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Guihulngan folk evacuate amid sound of gunfire

About 50 families composed of 200 individuals fled their homes in the wake of intensified government offensives against communist rebels in barangays Trinidad and Sandayao, Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental, during the weekend.

The Trinidad residents evacuated to the Barangay Trinidad Elementary School Saturday amid the sound of gunfire in the distance.

Two Army helicopter gunships also fired at a hill in the area to flush out fleeing New People’s Army rebels on Sunday, Col. Michael Samson, 303rd Infantry Brigaded acting commander, said today, January 18.

The suspected enemy position was not near residences, he said.

The Army operations against the rebels have halted and the evacuees, who were taken care of by the Guihulngan local government, have been advised to return home as the area is already safe, Samson added.

The government soldiers had been pursuing suspected NPA rebels following four separate encounters in the upland barangays of Sandayao and Trinidad, Maj. Cenon Pancito, 3rd Infantry Division spokesperson, said.

Samson said there were no casualties among the government soldiers.*

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