Maoists raid mine in Philippines ahead of truce
Mon, 13 Dec 2010 10:18 GMT
MANILA, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Maoist-led New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas raided and torched equipment at a copper and gold mine on a troubled southern island in the Philippines ahead of a Christmas ceasefire this week, police said on Monday.
The rebels also disarmed civilian security guards and seized mobile phones and personal belongings of mine workers during the attack on Saturday at a mine in Mati town, on the southern island of Mindanao, regional police chief Pedro Tango said.
"We suspect it was a fund-raising activity," Tango told reporters, saying rebels were known to be extorting money from mines, plantations and logging companies in the south. "If these companies do not pay up, the rebels attack them."
Tango said the attack came before a 19-day Christmas truce between government security forces and communist rebels set to begin on Dec. 16, which if it, holds would be the longest in 10 years.
"We're expecting the NPA rebels to step up their tactical operations before the ceasefire takes effect," he added.
The two sides had agreed to resume talks early next year to find a political solution to end more than 40 years of conflict that has killed 40,000 people and stunted growth in poor but resource-rich rural areas in the Philippines. [ID:nSGE6B206M]
Active in nearly all of the country's 80 provinces, the NPA rebels have been burning down farms, mines, mobile phone relay towers and other business establishments in an effort to raise funds to finance its guerrilla operations. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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