The Peruvian military has lost 16 troops along with 8 wounded in four days.
Photos of the Vrae are on this blog here.
Meanwhile, on October 7, in Sitio Kapihan, Barangay Concepcion in Valencia municipality of Bukidnon Province on Mindanao Island, the NPA detonated a roadside bomb against a military vehicle from the Army’s 29th Infantry Battalion, wounding 3 AFP soldiers. Afterward, there was a 5-minute firefight ensued between soldiers and NPA fighters from Front Committee 6.
A photo of a peasant in Valencia municipality, Bukidnon Province, Mindanao. Photo by Bobby Timonera. This could be Guatemala or Ecuador.Things seem to be hotting up in both Peru and the Philippines lately. A Filipina friend of mine told me yesterday that the NPA are "recruiting everywhere" now, especially on university campuses. A lot of urban Filipinos are apathetic about the conflict and tend towards neutrality. They don't like the NPA much, but they don't really hate them either. Most of them don't seem to think much of the state either.
In Peru, a lot of peasants are pretty much neutral too. There is widespread contempt for the Peruvian state and Peruvian capitalism, which has completely failed to develop the country or provide a bare minimum of a living standard for most people.
I assume there is a draft in both countries. If I were an average Peruvian or Filipino drafted into the military to fight guerrillas, I think I would legitimately ask what the Hell I was even fighting for anyway. I would ask that even if I had little sympathy for the rebels. Why the Hell should I fight and die for a venal, corrupt oligarchy that has been doing nothing but screwing me and mine for decades or centuries. Gimme a reason.
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