CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A pro-government militiaman was injured in a bomb explosion while pursuing communist rebels who seized a tribal leader in the southern Filipino province of Surigao del Sur, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said the militiaman was rushed to hospital in Tandag City and is now in stable condition. The New People’s Army rebels also freed their hostage, Eusebio Meniano, who was abducted at dawn of July 23 in Hinapuyan village in Carmen town following a negotiation spearheaded by Mayor Jane Plaza.
The rebels also asked for food, according to the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command.
Officials did not say why then rebels seized Meniano, but security forces continued its operation against the communist group.
Peace talks between Manila and communist leaders collapsed after the rebel negotiators demanded the release of all political prisoners, mostly NPA members, and a coalition government as a condition for the signing of a ceasefire deal.
President Rodrigo Duterte, a former rebel supporter, flatly rejected the demand, saying, the communist fighters should lay down their arms and stop extortion activities. (Mindanao Examiner)
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