DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 27, 2013) – New People’s Army rebels killed a government soldier in a clash Friday in the southern Philippine province of Compostela Valley, officials said.
Officials said the fighting erupted in the village of Malinawon in Mawab town where communist rebels attacked patrolling soldiers. The fighting lasted just 10 minutes and it was unknown if there were casualties on the NPA side.
Lt. Col. Alexis Bravo, commander of the 72nd Infantry Battalion, said troops were deployed in the area to protect the village from threats of rebel attacks. He said villagers sought the military’s help following harassment by the NPA.
“We preempted the entry of NPAs in that barangay. If not on the timely arrival of our troops, the community may have been attack by the NPAs,” Bravo said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
In the same statement, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said he ordered unit commanders to be vigilant in their peace outreach programs in the area. “While we protect our people in the communities from NPAs illegal activities, we must also ensure the safety of our men deployed in the areas of concern,” Cruz said.
The rebels are fighting for a separate Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
20