GOVERNMENT troops killed a New People’s Army rebel and overran a rebel camp in a firefight in Surigao del Sur last Monday, the military reported yesterday.
The Army’s 401st Brigade, stationed in Agusan del Sur, said the military operation also resulted in the recovery of six firearms and other war materiel left behind by the insurgents.
The firefight broke out at around 11:35 a.m. in Sitio Montenegren, Barangay San Isidro, Marihatag town where the rebels were reported to be conducting extortion and other atrocities.
Troops from the Army’s 75th Infantry Battalion tracked the rebels, leading to a firefight with about 20 rebels.
The NPAs retreated after the 10-minute firefight, leaving behind their dead comrade, two M16 rifles, two AK47 rifles, an M653 rifle, an M203 grenade launcher, 16 tents, seven backpacks, three commercial radios, a Global Positioning System, bomb components, and rebel documents.
401st Brigade commander Col. Rommel Almaria said some of the rebels were injured in the fighting.
Almaria thanked the residents for reporting the presence of the rebels in their community. He assured the residents the military will not allow the terrorists to sow violence in their area.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the defense and military wanted to end the NPA at the start of this year but failed because the rebel group is deeply rooted.
During the celebration of the Army’s 125 foundation anniversary last Tuesday, Lorenzana recalled that President Duterte told security officials to end the NPA about four years ago.
Lorenzana said the President, the military’s commander-in-chief, said the next administration should not inherit the problem of ending the insurgency in the country.
