NPA Rebel Attacks Kill 3, Injure 5 Philippine Presidential Guards

Jeoffrey Maitem and Dennis Santos
2017.07.19
Davao City, Philippines
170719-PH-communists-620.jpg A man examines the bullet-riddled vehicle used by members of the Philippine Presidential Security Group who were ambushed by communist guerrillas in Arakan town, North Cotabato province, in the southern island of Mindanao, July 19, 2017.
HO/Armed Forces of the Philippines

Three government forces were killed and five members of the Philippine Presidential Security Group (PSG) were injured in separate communist rebel attacks Wednesday, forcing the government to scrap back-channel talks meant to restart peace negotiations, officials said.

Members of the New People’s Army (NPA) disguised as government troops set up a road block on a remote highway in North Cotabato province in the restive southern region of Mindanao and tried to stop vehicles carrying soldiers assigned to the PSG. One of the troops noticed that some of the 150 or so gunmen wore mismatched military fatigues and alerted his companions about it, police said.

“The driver immediately sped off and an exchange of gunfire followed,” said Senior Inspector Argie Celeste, the local police chief.

Five PSG members were wounded in the attack. They were passing through the area on their way to Cagayan de Oro city also in the south as part of the president’s advance security team. The president was in Manila, the Philippine capital.

There were no reports of casualties from the rebel side.

Prior to the attack, the rebels also killed a pro-government militiaman, the military said in a statement. It said a 60-year-old man was abducted by the fleeing NPA rebels.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. The NPA has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside since 1969, making it one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies.

“Pursuit operation by the military and police were ongoing as of press time,” Celeste said.

It was the second ambush incident involving the PSG since November, when armed men also fired on the president’s security men in Marawi City, injuring nine. The attack took place a day before the president’s scheduled visit.

Separately, two marines were killed Wednesday and one was wounded in NPA attacks in the island of Palawan, southwest of Manila.

The marines were in civilian clothes buying provisions at a local market when they were shot by the rebels, the military said. The rebels have not released any statement on the incident.

The attack could be a retaliation for a recent offensive that flushed out the guerrilla force from a rebel base on the island’s Brooke’s Point, military spokeswoman Capt. Cheryl Tindog said.

Because of the attacks, the government has decided to scrap back-channel talks scheduled in the next few days aimed at reviving the stalled peace negotiations, said Jesus Dureza, the presidential adviser on the peace process.

“That situation on the ground necessary to provide the desired enabling environment for the conduct of peace negotiations is still not present up to this time,” Dureza told BenarNews.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella condemned the attacks he said added to the climate of uncertainty.

Duterte, a self-proclaimed leftist who was once a student of CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, launched fresh peace talks upon assuming office in June 2016.

He later suspended negotiations after the guerrillas continued their attacks despite the government’s move to release dozens of jailed rebels as part of confidence-building

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