Philippine rebels storm bandit camp

From the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Sep 19): Philippine rebels storm bandit camp

Communist rebels stormed a bandit camp and killed one gunman and wounded five others in deadly campaign against lawless groups victimizing innocent civilians in the southern Philippines.

Ariel Magbanwag, a spokesman for the New People’s Army - South Central Bukidnon Sub-Regional Command, said several rebels were also wounded in the raid that targeted the dreaded New Indigenous People’s Army for Reform in the town of San Fernando.

“The attack was launched in response to the overdue demands for justice of this group’s victims,” he said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

He said the fighting in the village of Dao lasted over 2 hours and that the rebel forces stopped firing after the bandits seized civilians and used them as shield.

“One was killed while five other bandit members were wounded inside their fortified camp in a chain of sporadic firefight which lasted for more than two hours. Surprised by the sudden assault of the revolutionary army, some armed bandits ran and hid among civilians; they returned fire using the gold panners in the area as human shield,” Magbanwag said.

He also accused the bandit group as behind the spate of murders and robberies in the province. He said troops are allegedly protecting the bandits, who control gold mining activities in the town.

“We assure the victims (of the bandit group) and their families that the future is bursting with many more opportunities. They can hope for justice to be served in due time,” he said.

Rebel forces have previously attacked or punished bandit and paramilitary groups blamed for many civilian atrocities in the southern Philippines.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is fighting for a separate state in the country.

http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2013/09/philippine-rebels-storm-bandit-camp.html