NPA rebels attack Army camp involved in Mayon evacuation

Communist New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas attacked an Army unit evacuating residents from the slopes of the Mayon volcano, the military said yesterday.

Five soldiers were wounded Tuesday when the NPA rebels fired rocket-propelled grenades at their camp near Daraga close to the slopes of the rumbling volcano in Albay.

"Army commanders in the area have condemned this inhumane and terroristic activity by the NPA which was conducted at a time when affected civilians need more help and support to alleviate their impoverished situation," Army spokesman Maj. Ernesto Torres said in a statement.

Brig. Gen. Arsenio Arugay, commanding general of the Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade, said the troops were helping in the packaging of medical supplies and distribution of relief goods when the NPA rebels attacked.

"This (attack) is just pure and simple harassment to distract our ongoing help and support for the thousands of Mayon evacuees," Arugay said.

Arugay claimed the NPA rebels were trying to retaliate after two of their comrades were killed during an encounter in Ligao City last Sunday.

Two other rebels were later killed in a separate encounter in Buhi, Camarines Sur.

Southern Luzon Command chief Maj. Gen. Alexander Yano said the NPA has apparently stepped up its offensives near Mayon as an Army detachment in Legazpi City was attacked last Monday. No one was killed or wounded in the incident.

A policeman was also abducted by a group of NPA guerrillas in

Barangay Sabloyon in Viga, Catanduanes last Monday.

Yano identified the kidnapped policeman as Senior Police Officer 1 Liberato Cesar.

The 7,400-member NPA has been waging a decades-long Maoist insurgency in the Bicol region.

The rebels observed a de facto ceasefire in the region earlier this year when the Bulusan volcano, 75 kilometers southeast of Mayon, expelled ash clouds that triggered a brief evacuation of nearby villages.

However, no ceasefire is in place around Mayon. — With AFP