NPA fired at CAFGU camp in Samar, says Army

The New People’s Army (NPA) recently attacked a detachment of the Citizen Armed Geographical Unit (CAFGU) in Brgy. San Pascual, Catarman, Northern Samar, the Philippine Army (PA) reported on Thursday.

According to the PA’s 803rd Infantry Brigade, about 10 of the attackers positioned themselves 200 to 300 kilometers from the CAFGU camp and started firing at around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, April 14.

The CAFGU is the auxiliary force of the Philippine Army in fighting insurgents.

“The CAFGU and military personnel assigned in the detachment did not return fire as the rebels immediately ran away after firing few rounds,” Captain Amado Gutierrez, spokesperson of the PA 8th Infantry Division in Camp General Vicente, said in a press statement.

No one was reported hurt in the incident.

Gutierrez said troops from the 803rd Infantry Brigade were immediately dispatched after the incident and are currently conducting pursuit operation against the NPA rebels.

“The action of the NPAs in Northern Samar is an act of desperation since they were not able to launch any significant tactical offensives in Northern Samar before, during or after their 45th anniversary on March 29, 2014,” Colonel Herminigildo Aquino, commander of the 803rd Infantry Brigade, said in a statement.

Based on the military estimate, the CPP-NPA was responsible for the deaths of about 30,000 individuals since it was founded in 1969.

According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the CPP-NPA is now down to 4,347 members from more than 26,000 in the late 1980s, with their operations mostly directed against small military and police units and extortion activities against rural businesses. — Elizabeth Marcelo/BM, GMA News