NPA rebels attack troops

TWO people, a soldier and a militiaman, were injured in a New People’s Army (NPA) attack in the hinterlands of Misamis Occidental, military official said Thursday.

Army’s 1st Infantry Division spokesman Captain Alberto Caber said the attack took place Tuesday night in the boundary of Liboron and Mansawan villages, Don Victoriano Chiongbian, Misamis Occidental.

The identities of both the wounded soldier and militiaman were not immediately available.

Caber said the troops from the Army’s 55th Infantry Battalion along with some militiamen were undertaking peace and development works when some 20 NPA rebels attacked them.

The troops, although two of them were already wounded, managed to return fire resulting in a five-minute firefight sending the NPA rebels scampering to different directions, Caber said.

He said the NPA rebels were believed to have suffered casualties as bloodstains were visible in their withdrawal route.

Lieutenant Colonel Rommel Almaria, commander of the 55th Infantry Battalion, said the attack will not stop them from undertaking peace and development works in Misamis Occidental.

Almaria added that the attack is a clear indication that the NPAs “are against the gains of the Bayanihan soldiers in the villages who are working to attain peace in that part of the region.”

“The objective of the incident seemingly appears to be the rebels’ effort to disrupt the locals’ mounting trust on the soldiers,” Almaria said.

“We will not stop doing peace for our people,” Almaria added.