ARMY troops killed nine communist rebels in a series of firefights, about a month after the two sides agreed to resume peace talks, the armed forces said.
The fighting occurred on Monday in four remote villages near the southern city of Malaybalay, a military statement said, at the start of a two-day unilateral Christmas truce declared by the Philippines’ communist party and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).
The military’s Fourth Infantry Division did not immediately release details of the Malaybalay clashes that it said left nine NPA rebels dead.
President Ferdinand Marcos’ government and the rebels announced last month that they intend to resume peace talks next year, following a series of failed negotiations launched by previous governments since the ouster of Marcos’ father, the late dictator, in 1986.
The Maoist insurgency, one of the world’s longest-running, has claimed thousands of lives.
The rebels had announced on Saturday that they would observe a two-day truce from Christmas Day. — AFP
