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| Southeast Asia | |
| MILF & NPA kill 2 Filippino soldiers, lose 4 hard boyz | |
| 2003-12-10 | |
| Six people were killed and a village was set ablaze when combined forces of the New People’s Army (NPA) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) clashed with Army troops in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, Monday afternoon. Now remember all, Islamists will never ally with atheistic communists, their ideologies are completely incompatible. These Filippino cease-fires appear to work about the same as the Sudanese ones ... Fifteen houses were also burned down after an almost two-hour firefight between the rebels and the government forces. Another day in the glorious world of Armed Struggle™ ... The armed encounter happened around 3 p.m. in Sitio Waan, Kingking in Pantukan, even as President Arroyo and the insurgents both declared a Christmas truce. Which the latter party has now violated ... Lt. Col. Edgardo Gonzales, chief of the Army’s 60th Infantry Battalion (IB), said his men were conducting civil-military operations in the village when at least 60 NPA and MILF rebels attacked them. After an hour and a half of fierce firefighting, two government soldiers and four rebels were left dead. Military casualties were building wells, footbridges and health centers for the village, whose residents included a number of former NPA rebels. Ah, so this was Dire Revenge™ in addition to the usual Armed Struggle™ antics ... Gonzales said the attack could have been a desperate move on the part of the two rebel groups since they have not been receiving support from the residents in the area lately. A certain Kumander Lando of the Front Committee 2 reportedly led the NPA rebels while the MILF commander was not identified. Just so long as his last name isn’t Calrissian ... President Arroyo Monday ordered a suspension of military operations (Somo) against the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the MILF from December 10 to January 6. Why? The CPP, in a statement, said that "to promote the peace negotiations" starting next month, the NPA would also stop attacks against government forces between December 20 and January 4. In the meantime, the attacks appear to be continuing ... Arroyo said Tuesday that the Somo against the NPA "is a recommendation of the defense and the military organizations as a sign of their support for the peace process." She said the temporary ceasefire shows the government’s willingness to press for peace talks with communist rebels. "We realize only too well that while our soldiers are ever prepared to go after insurgents, we must find means to give respite to civilian communities affected by conflict, especially in the spirit of the Christmas season," Arroyo said in a statement. "This goes with our firm commitment to a principled pursuit of peace, negotiations and the resolutions of conflict through non-violent means," she
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |
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| Posted by: john 2003-12-10 1:38:38 PM |
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| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-12-10 1:09:58 PM |
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| Posted by: Dar 2003-12-10 11:12:38 AM |
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| Posted by: Frank G 2003-12-10 10:59:57 AM |
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| Posted by: Spot 2003-12-10 8:35:55 AM |