Map of Negros Occidental | INQIRER.net
BACOLOD CITY — Two alleged communist rebels were killed Tuesday in encounters with government soldiers in Cauayan town, Negros Occidental.
The Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion soldiers engaged about 10 members of the South West Front (SWF), Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor in two consecutive encounters at Sitio Cambaga in Barangay Yao-Yao, Cauayan, said Lieutenant Colonel J-Jay Javines, 3ID Public Affairs Office chief.
The clashes resulted in the deaths of two unidentified alleged members of the New People’s Army whose bodies were recovered from the encounter site.
Seized from the site were an M-653 rifle, M-14 rifle, .45 caliber pistol, an anti-personnel mine with blasting cap, M-14 magazines, ammunition, medical paraphernalia, personal belongings, and antigovernment documents with high intelligence value.
The same group of rebels were involved in an encounter on Sept. 21 with 47th Infantry Battalion troops in Barangay Tabugon, Kabankalan City, which led to the deaths of six NPA members, he added.
The seized .45 caliber pistol belonged to Sergeant Jhoerom Meguillo, one of the two soldiers killed in an ambush on April 3, 2021 by the same NPA group, Javines said.
Four members of the SWF, bringing along one high-powered firearm, surrendered to 15IB on Sunday.
One of them was an active SWF member.
Major General Marion R. Sison, 3ID commander, congratulated Team 302nd Brigade and Team 15IB for their feats.
“These are strong and positive indications that declaring the SWF as dismantled and, subsequently, Negros Island as insurgency-free is within reach,” he said.
“Do not give them breathing space until they all go weary and opt to return to the folds of the law or suffer the same fate as their comrades,” Sison added.
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