30 Agusan families flee homes as hostilities escalate

BUTUAN CITY – At least 30 families started to flee their homes since Friday night in Sitio Lamasaya, Barangay Fortuna, Veruela, Agusan del Sur as fighting rages on between government troopers and suspected New People’s Army guerillas that started late afternoon Friday, an urgent news dispatch from the Agusan del Sur Provincial Information Office said.

However, Agusan del Sur Provincial Information Officer Ferdinand Perez assured relatives of the evacuees who are now housed at Fortuna Elementary School that the evacuees are being taken cared of by Veruela Mayor Salimar “Loloy” Mondejar.

The news dispatch hinted, at least four NPA guerillas were killed and one Cafgu member was seriously wounded when some 60 NPA young rebels attacked a Cafgu detachment in Katipunan an adjacent barangay late afternoon yesterday.

The Agusan del Sur Provincial Police Office based in Patin-ay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur confirmed the encounter but is still verifying the identity of the Cafgu member who got wounded.

Caraga Police Regional Director chief Superintendent Jaime Eloreta Milla has earlier declared full alert status to all municipal police stations around Caraga following the twin NPA attacks and raids of two Siargao Island Municipal Police Stations on June 26.

In the twin raids, NPA guerillas grabbed at least 16 short and long government service firearms and ammunitions aside from destroying office equipment and facilities.

The government has filed robbery and rebellion charges against Joma Sison, NPA Mindanao leader George Madlos a.k.a. Ka Oris who hails from Siargao Island. Fifteen NPA raiders got caught in a hot pursuit encounters. – Ben Serrano