Sunday, June 24, 2007

Rebels Storm Police Base In Southern RP

BUKIDNON (Mindanao Examiner / 24 Jun)- The Philippines' New People's Army rebels attacked a police headquarters in the town of Dangcagan in the southern province of Bukidnon on Sunday and carting a still undetermined number of weapons, the military said.

The military said the raid left one police officer dead. Troops were sent to pursue the attackers, numbering about two dozens.

The rebels were clad in military uniform when they raided the police base early in the afternoon. Policemen put up a firefight, but had been overpowered by the rebels.

The NPA is the armed wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been fighting for a separate Maoist state in the largely Catholic country.

Peace talks between the government and rebels failed after the United States listed the NPA and the CPP, including its political arm, the National Democratic Front as foreign terrorist organizations on Manila's prodding.

The rebels accused Manila of pressuring them into signing a peace deal that will eventually led into disarming more than 7,500 fighters across the country without a clear understanding whether they would be allowed to rule separately. (Mindanao Examiner)

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