Army, NPA clash anew in Neg. Or

From the Visayan Daily Star (Sep18): Army, NPA clash anew in Neg. Or

Government troops clashed with suspected members of the New People’s Army in Sitio Nagud-od, Barangay Nagbalaye in Sta. Catalina town, Negros Oriental, at around 1 p.m. yesterday.

Brig. Gen. Francisco Patrimonio, commander of the 302nd Brigade, said soldiers of the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, led by 1Lt. Mark Calamba,
exchanged fire with around 15 armed men believed to be members of the NPA Komiteng Rehiyonal Sentral Bisayas-South East Front. The suspected insurgents withdrew later, he said.

He added that the soldiers were conducting security patrol in Brgy. Nagbalaye when they received a tip from an unnamed civilian about the sighting of armed men in Nagud-od.

Pursuit operations continue, and no casualties had been reported as of press time, Patrimonio said.

He said the troops are observing properly the rules of engagement to avoid unnecessary loss of civilian lives and destruction of property.

Government forces will carry out relentless anti-insurgency combat operations in Negros despite the pull-out of the scout rangers, who were deployed to war-torn Zamboanga City, Patrimonio said.

He said they are not letting their guard down, especially with the recent encounter between government troops and suspected NPA rebels at the boundary of Toboso town and Sagay City in Negros Occidental Saturday.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2013/September/18/negor1.htm