NPA rebels kill soldier in Zambo town

PAGADIAN CITY – A government soldier was killed in a clash with communist rebels in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Norte, army officials said Monday.

Officials said the weekend fighting erupted in the village of Tinuyop in Leon Postigo town and lasted for about 20 minutes.

“The encounter also resulted in the death of one soldier while casualties on the enemy side are yet to be determined. My salute to our soldier who paid the ultimate sacrifice putting other people and the country ahead of himself,” said Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the Western Mindanao Command.

He said troops from the 97^th Infantry Battalion recovered improvised explosives, grenades and ammunition left behind by members of the New People’s Army, who are fighting for a communist rule in the country.

The latest fighting occurred just as President Rodrigo Duterte is again pursuing the resumption of peace talks with the rebel group.

Duterte has in the past trashed, revived and resumed talks with communist leaders, and even ordered the military to crush the NPA and assassinate Jose Maria Sison, leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines now in exile in The Netherlands.

Rebel leaders were demanding the release of hundreds of NPA members jailed across the country as a precondition for the declaration of ceasefire. Duterte has freed over a dozen rebel leaders who eventually escaped after peace talks collapsed.

Now, Sobejana said the military will continue its operations against the NPA. “In honor of all our fallen heroes, we will continue to conduct military operations and maximize intelligence monitoring with the assistance of the police, the local government, and the civilians in the province of Zamboanga del Norte to disallow these communist terrorists to thrive in the communities,” he said.

There was no immediate statement from the NPA, but it had previously ordered rebel forces to strike hard on military and government targets as part of its terror campaign. (Zamboanga Post)

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