Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Insurgents attack militiamen in Mindanao
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Suspected insurgents attacked a small group of patrolling paramilitary troopers on a village in the province of Sultan Kudarat in southern Philippines, officials said Monday.
The government militias were patrolling the village of Midpook in the town of Ninoy Aquino on Sunday when ambushed by five gunmen, said Captain Jose Ritchie Pabilonia, a spokesman for the Southern Command.
There were no reports of casualties, but Pabilonia said troops were sent to the village to track down the ambushers. "Soldiers are tracking down the attackers," he said.
Communist insurgents also attacked and killed a militia man Friday in Sibulan village on Davao del Sur's Sta. Cruz town, he said, quoting belated military reports.
"He was only buying food from a store when three suspected New People's Army hit men shot him with pistols at close range, killing him instantly," he said.
NPA forces also killed a soldier and a militiaman in an April 11 raid on a military detachment in Misamis Occidental province. The attackers fled after the raid, taking with them dozens of assorted weapons, including machine guns.
Fighting have escalated in many areas in the countryside after peace talks between the Arroyo government and communist group collapsed in 2004 following the pullout of rebels from the negotiations due to their continued inclusion in the terror lists of the United States and the European Union.
Rebel leaders demanded that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ask the United States and the European Union to strike them off from the terror lists before they resume peace talks. Manila also suspended safety and immunity guarantee for its negotiators following the collapse of the peace talks. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(May 2, 2006 issue)
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