CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Two soldiers were killed and 8 more wounded in a landmine explosion set off by communist rebels in the southern Philippine province of Surigao del Sur, officials said Thursday.
Officials said the blast, which occurred in the village of Caromata in San Miguel town, killed Sergeant Luisito Marimon and Corporal Rey Gerson.
The wounded soldiers were members of the 4th Field Artillery Regiment and 41st Division Reconnaissance Company under the command of the 4th Infantry Division.
Brigadier General Leandro Loyao III, commander of the Artillery Regiment, condemned the New People’s Army rebels for their continued use of landmines, especially during the observance of the Lenten season.
“It is very clear under the provisions of the Comprehensive Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law that landmines are banned, while the artillery follows an internationally recognized doctrine,” he said.
He said the premature detonation of landmines, which are usually planted by rebels on roadsides and near civilian houses where patrolling troops pass, had killed innocent people in the past.
The NPA has been waging a separatist war for many decades now in an effort to topple the democratic government and install a Maoist state. (Mindanao Examiner)
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