2 minors killed in Army-NPA clash in Bicol
Two sons of a communist guerrilla aged 10 and seven died in crossfire Saturday as soldiers battled rebels in the Bicol region, military officials said Sunday.
The children's father and a regional rebel vice-commander were also killed and another child was wounded in the gun battle on the outskirts of Pili, said local army spokesman Major Angelo Guzman.
An army patrol was checking reports of fighters of the communist New People's Army (NPA) in the area when they came under fire from a hut, said Guzman.
"They fired back in the direction where the shots were coming from. After a 10-minute firefight, the rebels fled but when the soldiers investigated, they found the two dead rebels and the two dead children in the hut," he told AFP.
Guzman named the slain rebel as Benjamin Manzera, 54. His 14-year-old daughter was wounded.
A vice-commander of the NPA's regional unit was also found dead in the hut, along with two assault rifles, the spokesman added.
Colonel Generoso Bolina, a regional military spokesman, said the army was investigating and "if it is found that there was negligence on the part of the armed forces, then charges may be filed."
The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion to seize power since 1969.
While the military has said the guerrillas' strength fell to little more than 4,000 last year, the insurgents still extort money from rural businesses and attack isolated police and military units.
The rebels retain considerable strength in the poverty-stricken Bicol region, a largely agricultural area some 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Manila. — AFP
The children's father and a regional rebel vice-commander were also killed and another child was wounded in the gun battle on the outskirts of Pili, said local army spokesman Major Angelo Guzman.
An army patrol was checking reports of fighters of the communist New People's Army (NPA) in the area when they came under fire from a hut, said Guzman.
"They fired back in the direction where the shots were coming from. After a 10-minute firefight, the rebels fled but when the soldiers investigated, they found the two dead rebels and the two dead children in the hut," he told AFP.
Guzman named the slain rebel as Benjamin Manzera, 54. His 14-year-old daughter was wounded.
A vice-commander of the NPA's regional unit was also found dead in the hut, along with two assault rifles, the spokesman added.
Colonel Generoso Bolina, a regional military spokesman, said the army was investigating and "if it is found that there was negligence on the part of the armed forces, then charges may be filed."
The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion to seize power since 1969.
While the military has said the guerrillas' strength fell to little more than 4,000 last year, the insurgents still extort money from rural businesses and attack isolated police and military units.
The rebels retain considerable strength in the poverty-stricken Bicol region, a largely agricultural area some 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of Manila. — AFP
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