BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Communist rebels yesterday denied using bacteria-laced landmines in the insurgency war they have been waging for more than four decades now.
In a statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) dismissed as “baseless, desperate and fecal-brained†the military’s claim that New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas fashion explosives with human feces.
“The purpose of explosives detonated on command is to momentarily stun and immobilize the enemy, thereby enabling the guerrillas to maintain the initiative in battle and maximize the employment of tactical superior firepower, and not to subject anyone to bacterial infection,†it said.
The military has claimed that rebels have been using bacterial weapons after last Tuesday’s NPA attack in Pantukan, Compostela Valley left seven soldiers wounded and found positive for bacteria commonly found in the human gut.
“Any medical practitioner knows that open wounds, especially if not treated promptly, can be infected with bacteria, especially those that cause tetanus,†the CPP said.
“A medical doctor interviewed on national television also explained that the intestinal bacteria allegedly found by AFP doctors in shrapnel extracted from the wounded soldiers have limited life spans outside of the gut and are harmless unless ingested,†it added.
The CPP also said that under the International Humanitarian Law and the Ottawa conventions against landmines, its guerrilla forces are allowed to employ command-detonated explosives.