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Clash kills Philippine soldier, 6 rebels ahead of talks: Army

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Agence France-Presse

<p>MANILA -- Six communist guerrillas and a soldier were killed in a clash Sunday, officials said, as the Philippine government prepared to restart peace talks to end one of the world&#x27;s longest-running Maoist insurgencies.</p><p>Government troops exchanged fire with New People&#x27;s Army (NPA) guerrillas near the town of Balayan, about 68 kilometers south of Manila, a Philippine Army statement said.</p><p>The clash came three weeks after the government and the rebels agreed to resume negotiations aimed at ending the near 55-year insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/28/23/govt-ndfp-agree-to-resume-peace-talks">Gov&#x27;t, communist rebels agree to resume peace talks</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/25/23/peace-adviser-military-welcome-amnesty-grant-to-rebels">&#x27;Significant milestone&#x27;: Peace adviser, military welcome amnesty grant to rebels</a></li></ul><p>Six NPA members and a soldier were killed in the fighting and another three soldiers were wounded, the government said.</p><p>&quot;The Armed Forces of the Philippines will pursue the fight against all terrorist groups that put our country in harm&#x27;s way,&quot; Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said in a statement, in which he also sent his condolences to the dead soldier&#x27;s family.</p><p>The rebellion grew out of the global communist movement and found fertile soil for recruitment among the Philippines&#x27; rural poor.</p><p>The NPA boasted about 26,000 fighters at its peak in the 1980s, a number the military says has now dwindled to less than 2,000.</p><p>Successive Philippine administrations have held peace talks with the communists through their Netherlands-based political arm, the National Democratic Front.</p><p>The last peace talks were held during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who cut off the negotiations in 2017 and declared the group a terrorist organization.</p><p>Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos&#x27; aides and rebel officials expect the negotiations to restart next year.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/28/23/ndfp-seeks-removal-of-terrorist-tag-as-peace-talks-resume">NDFP seeks removal of terrorist tag as peace talks resume under Marcos Jr. admin</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/24/23/marcos-grants-amnesty-to-former-rebels">Marcos grants amnesty to former rebels &#x27;to foster lasting peace&#x27;</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2894564" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Government troops exchanged fire with New People's Army guerrillas near the town of Balayan, about 68 kilometers south of Manila.