NPA rebels ambush army troops in Philippines

From the Mindanao Examiner BlogSpot  site (Dec 15): NPA rebels ambush army troops in Philippines

Four government soldiers were injured following a roadside bombing on Monday in Compostela Valley province, a stronghold of communist rebels in southern Philippines, reports said.

It said the soldiers were travelling on a truck when the bomb, believed planted by the New People’s Army, went off on a highway near the village of Cabuyoan in Mabini town.

There was no statement from either the military or the NPA, but the attack came at the same time that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police declared a month-long yuletide ceasefire.

The unilateral truce would allow troops and policemen to celebrate the holiday season with their families, but the cease-fire will not affect ongoing law enforcement operation against the rebels and their supporters.

The NPA has been waging a separatist war for decades now and previous peace talks had failed many times after both sides disagreed with each other demands – with the communist group demanding the release of all imprisoned leaders and rebels, including political prisoners, and the government asking the guerrillas to lay down their weapons as a gesture of goodwill.

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/12/npa-rebels-ambush-army-troops-in.html