3 Killed as Rebels Storm Police Station in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, 20 June 2004— Communist insurgents raided a police station in the southern province of Agusan del Sur yesterday, killing two policemen and injuring three others, a military report said.

It said two of the attackers were killed in the firefight in the town of Bayugan, where about 30 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) attacked at around 2 p.m. The gunmen, all in military uniforms, came in three vehicles and stormed the police building, the report said.

Two policemen and a civilian, who was caught in the crossfire, were wounded, the military said. Only 4 policemen were manning the station when the insurgents attacked, killing two of them instantly.

Two gunmen were killed when an off-duty policeman pursued the attackers, it said.

The report said police reinforcement recovered two M16 automatic rifles and an M203 grenade launcher left behind by the retreating gunmen. Police also recovered two vans abandoned by the attackers in the village of Carmen.

Other reports said two groups of NPA gunmen also set up checkpoints and road blocks in the villages of Osme?a, about 7 kilometers from the police station, and in Wawa village, 14 km from the town, to prevent government reinforcements.

The fighting erupted despite ongoing peace talks between the Arroyo government and rebel leaders.

President Arroyo resumed peace talks with rebel in February in an effort to end more than three decades of fighting in the country. The talks were abandoned in 2001 after NPA rebels killed two lawmakers in broad daylight attacks despite a cease-fire accord with the government.

Many security officials had opposed the resumption of the peace talks, saying the NPA is only using the negotiations to recruit new members and consolidate its forces. Manila also agreed to rebel demands to free more than 100 political detainees.

The United States and the European Union tagged the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) and its armed wing the NPA, as foreign terrorist organizations and froze its assets abroad on Manila’s recommendation. The rebels have demanded Manila to lift the terror tag.