Thursday, June 18, 2020

5 'rebels' killed in clash with troops in NegOr town

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 18, 2020): 5 'rebels' killed in clash with troops in NegOr town (By Mary Judaline Partlow)



SEIZED ARMS. Five suspected members of the New People's Army were killed in a clash with government troops in Sitio Talingting, Barangay Luyang in Mabinay, Negros Oriental on Thursday (June 18, 2020). Shown in photo are high-powered firearms, ammunition and subversive documents recovered by police and military from the clash site. (Photo courtesy of the Philippine Army's 3rd Infantry Division)

Five suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) – the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) – were killed in an encounter with government troops early Thursday in Sitio Talingting, Barangay Luyang in Mabinay town, Negros Oriental.

Joint elements of the 11th Infantry Battalion and the 94th Infantry Battalion, the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 7 of the Philippine National Police and the Mabinay Police clashed with the group at around 12:45 a.m. as they were about to serve a warrant of arrest against one of them, a media release from the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division said.

The government forces received a report from barangay officials and concerned residents of the presence of a wanted person, who was with the armed men occupying two houses in the area, it said.

While the government troops were approaching the area, they were fired upon by an undetermined number of suspected NPA members.

A heavy exchange of gunfire that lasted for about 30 minutes ensued, after which the armed group fled, leaving behind its slain members inside the houses.

The bodies were recovered, as well as three M16 rifles, an AK47 rifle with a defaced serial number, a caliber .45 pistol with a defaced serial number, three AK47 magazines, four rifle grenades, an improvised explosive device (IED), assorted magazines and ammunition, and subversive documents.

One of the dead, believed to be Isaias Villamor Rabilista, alias Sayas Ribilista, was the subject of the warrant of arrest for alleged violation of Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.

The troops launched operations to secure the perimeter of the encounter site while waiting for the forensic experts to process the evidence at the site.

“This is a clear manifestation that the local residents do not want to be deceived again by the lies of these NPA terrorists,” Lt. Col. Ramir Redosendo, 11th Infantry Battalion commander, was quoted as saying.

“It also shows that EO 70 and the Negros Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NOTF-ELCAC) is up and running,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70 embodies the Whole-of-Nation Approach in ending the country’s long-running insurgency problem and attaining inclusive and sustainable peace.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1106271

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.