NPAs kill village chieftain in ComVal province raid

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Communist insurgents raided a village and killed the chieftain who they held hostage before fleeing to the jungle, military reports said Saturday. The report said that about 2 dozens New People's Army (NPA) gunmen attacked late Friday a village in Monkayo town in Compostela Valley province, seized and killed its chieftain who was also a militia. As they were fleeing, the insurgents warned villagers against helping government soldiers and threatened to kill civilians who would provide information to the military about the NPA, military sources said. The NPA, founded on March 29, 1969, is the armed component of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The CPP broke off peace talks with Manila in 2004 after the United States on the government's prodding, listed the party as foreign terrorist organization and froze its assets abroad. The military also said that the CPP ordered its forces to intensify attacks on government and military targets as part of its new offensives. "The main aim of the attacks is to seize weapons and increase the number of fighters and units of the NPA," the military said. It added that NPAs were also targeting mining and logging firms and certain installations to compel the army to deploy its men to several points, making security forces vulnerable to attacks. The CPP reportedly detailed its tactical offensives plan in a statement on Wednesday, the 39th founding anniversary of the NPA. Over 2, 000 people sympathetic to the military staged an indignation rally in Tambulig town in Zamboanga del Sur province while the CPP was celebrating the success of the NPA offensives. Villagers participating in the rally denounced NPA atrocities and vowed to support the government's anti-insurgency campaign, said Major Gamal Hayudini, new commander of the military's 4th Civil Relations Group. "People are sick and tired of the NPA atrocities. They want peace to reign in the country, free from the clutches of terrorism," Hayudini told GMANews.TV. He said the rally was organized by the pro-democracy group called National Alliance for Democracy, was supported by provincial officials and village chieftains from Tambulig town. - Al Jacinto, GMANews.TV