Philippines: Here’s How Communist Guerrillas Celebrated a Half-Century Rebellion by Jim Gomez – AP
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine communist guerrillas marked the 50th anniversary of their rural rebellion on Friday with threats of more attacks, possibly in cities, as a negotiated settlement remains elusive and peace talks have repeatedly stalled.
The New People’s Army marked a half a century after its founding with an attack on a police patrol in northern Mountain Province that killed a policeman.
Authorities said a separate rebel assault on a police station in eastern Victoria town backfired Thursday when officers fought back and killed three insurgents and captured three others.
Regional rebel spokesman Magno Udiao said the insurgents targeted about 20 policemen patrolling the hinterlands in the mountainous region because they were conducting counterinsurgency tasks with the military.
In light of the government's withdrawal from peace negotiations, the rebels "will incessantly mount tactical offensives to continue the NPA's mandate of seizing political power from the corrupt and fascist ruling classes and dismantling its fascist machinery," Udiao said…