MANILA, (PNA) — The 10th Infantry Division, based in Compostela Valley, announced that indiscriminate attacks by the New People’s Army (NPA) have harmed and wounded 471 civilians and military personnel from 2010 up to the present.
Most of the casualties were caused by NPA-detonated landmines.
These can be broken down into 75 civilian casualties, with 27 killed and 48 wounded, while the military suffered 396 casualties, with 109 killed and 287 wounded.
The Comprehensive Agreement on Respect to Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) protects civilians, non-combatants and hors de combat or those soldiers who are wounded and rendered incapable to fight.
“The 10th Infantry Division vehemently condemns the acts of the criminal group New People’s Army in using landmines, robbery and their explicit violation of CARHRIHL, that endanger the lives of civilians and non-combatants. This likewise manifests the armed group’s utter disregard for human rights and International Humanitarian Law as they continue to defy the international ban on the use of landmines,” said 10th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Ariel Bernardo.
“With the Bayanihan efforts of all peace loving stakeholders, we can give justice to our fallen troops and to those victims of the atrocities of the New People’s Army,” he added.