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Sunday, February 26, 2006
2 killed, 3 wounded in communists' attack
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Suspected communist insurgents killed two people and wounded three government soldiers, in separate attacks in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.
Officials said gunmen, believed to be members of the New People's Army (NPA), killed two brothers in Kabasalan town in Zamboanga Sibugay province on Friday.
The duo was on a motorcycle on their way to a nearby village when about a dozen gunmen opened fire at them, killing the two men instantly, said Major Gamal Hayudini, a spokesman for the Southern Command.
Three other soldiers were wounded in an earlier attack in Butuan City, northeast of Zamboanga.
Officials also said 15 NPA members surrendered in Compostela Valley province while two others had been arrested in separate anti-insurgency operations in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental on Friday.
Those who surrendered to the military handed over 15 assorted automatic weapons, said Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Simbahon, spokesman for the Army's 4th Infantry Division.
The NPA, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) are fighting for the past three decades to topple the government and install a Maoist state in the country.
Peace negotiations between the government and communist rebels collapsed following the pullout of the National Democratic Front (NDF) from the talks due to its inclusion in the terror lists of the United States and the European Union. Rebel leaders demanded that Manila asks the United States and the European Union to strike them off from the terror lists before they resume peace talks.
The rebels have vowed to step up attacks on government targets after Manila last year suspended safety and immunity guarantee for its negotiators following the collapse of the peace talks. (Sunnex)
(February 26, 2006 issue)
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