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NPA kills 5 soldiers in Abra clash

TINEG, Abra (Jan. 20) — Five soldiers belonging to the 54-man contingent of the 41st Infantry Battallion-Philippine Army (IBPA) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) died in a 2-hour encounter with the Agustin Begnalen Command (ABC) squad of the New Peoples Army (NPA) in Barangay Apao here on January 17.

According to an e-mailed statement of the ABC, the 41st IBPA reported only one soldier wounded in the said fight as announced at a local radio station on the said date. The said soldier was identified as Private First Class Santos Hermono.

“The NPA squad was dispatched in the area to check and possibly launch punitive actions against the notorious elements of the 41st IB,” the statement further read. The same statement said that the soldiers arrived at Poblacion, Lacub at 11 p.m. on the same date.

ABC also claimed that the 41st IBPA record in Abra is imbued with human rights violations that include the killings of civilians, use of civilians as human shields, harrassment and intimidation, cattle rustling and destruction of agriculture.

The NPA guerillas also added that the 41st IBPA conducts military operations in areas targeted by big mining companies to pacify overwhelming protests of affected communities.

“Obviously, the Philippine Army is gearing on large-scale military operations in North Abra, in the municipalities of Tineg, Lacub, Malibcong and Baay-Licuan. The people should always be vigilant against abuses of AFP troops,” the satement stressed. # via NORDIS

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