323 NPA rebels 'neutralized,' AFP chief says

From ABS-CBN (Jul 11): 323 NPA rebels 'neutralized,' AFP chief says

Government troops either killed or captured 323 New People's Army (NPA) rebels in the first semester of 2013, Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said Thursday.

Most of the communist rebels who were "neutralized" voluntarily surrendered, Bautista told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.

"We have neutralized about 323 NPAs, most of them are surrenders and that is how we want it - for them to abandon armed struggle," said.

Bautista estimated the current strength of the communist rebels at "a little over 4,000" armed fighters.

Government forces also seized 203 various firearms from the NPA, while losing 47 guns.

Bautista many of the NPA rebels are concentrated in Eastern Mindanao, including Compostela Valley.

"That is where they are most active, and that's also our focus area," he said.

The Armed Forces, in a press statement Thursday, said government troops launched 350 operations nationwide against rebels in the first half of 2013.

Majority of the military operations against rebel forces were focused in Eastern Mindanao.

NPA rebels, meanwhile, launched 173 attacks during the period, according to AFP data.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The Maoist rebellion, which has been raging for 44 years, has claimed at least 30,000 lives.

President Benigno Aquino hoped to end the rebellion before his six-year term expires in 2016, but the government said in April that peace talks had collapsed due to rebel demands such as for the release of captured comrades.

In recent months, the communist rebels have launched more assaults, often targeting unarmed soldiers, police and civilians.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/07/11/13/323-npa-rebels-neutralized-afp-chief-says