TIGHT SECURITY. Personnel of the Army's 30th Infantry Battalion conduct security measures along a national highway in Claver town, Surigao del Norte after the communist New People’s Army staged a landmine attack near a civilian-populated area. A soldier who was hurt in the attack is already out of danger. (Photo grab from Facebook Page of Media Information and Communication Office, Surigao City)
BUTUAN CITY – The Army’s 30th Infantry Battalion (30IB) has condemned the landmine attack by communist rebels on the Ladragon-Sapa Road in Claver town, Surigao del Norte, on Friday night.
1st Lt. Wilfredo F. Quilang, 30IB civil-military operations officer, said Saturday the latest landmine attack by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Surigao del Norte "posed a great danger to the lives and properties of the people in the area".
Quilang said a soldier, who was hurt during the attack, has been released from the hospital at around 6 a.m. on Saturday.
He said it was treacherous for the NPA to attack while the leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its political arm, the National Democratic Front (NDF), are asking the government to resume the stalled peace talks.
"While their leaders want to sit in negotiating table for peace talks, their armed wing, the NPA, is brazenly conducting harassments and attacks to civilians and government forces in the provinces in recent months," he said.
Quilang said the attack was staged by the members of Sandatahang Yunip Propaganda (SYP) under Guerrilla Front 16 (GF-16) of the NPA's Northern Mindanao Regional Committee.
He said government forces were able to return fire after the landmine explosion, forcing the rebels to retreat.
“The NPA disregarded the safety of the civilians near the blast site. The attack was a violation of the provisions of the International Humanitarian Law,” he said.
Quilang said the attack happened on a road leading to the declared "Peace and Development Zone" in the areas of Lahi, Sico-Sico, and Caman-onan (LASICAM) in neighboring Gigaquit town, Surigao del Norte.
“Before the declaration of the ceasefire in December, we already received reports that the NPA members were sending letters to civilians in LASICAM area, threatening them to leave their houses for declaring support to the government and the military,” he said.
Quilang said the NPA rebels turned their anger to the civilians in the area after the supposed plenum of top communist leaders in the hinterlands of Guigaquit failed to materialize.
“They accused the civilians of providing reports to the Army after the plenum failed to push through,” he said, even as he assured the residents in the area of government protection.
Pursuit operations are ongoing against the rebels responsible for the landmine attack, he added.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1091280
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