Philippines: Lumads to AFP, NPA: Leave us alone (tags)
MANILA, Philippines — A group claiming to represent 33 lumad (indigenous people) tribes in Mindanao on Friday urged the military and the rebel group New People's Army (NPA) to stop dragging them into their conflict and to respect their human rights and ancestral domain.
Hundreds flee Army, NPA war in remote areas nationwide (tags)
The ceasefire declared by the military isn’t holding as hundreds of villagers fled remote communities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao that have turned into battlegrounds between communist guerrillas and government soldiers. The flight of residents afraid of getting caught in the crossfire has created temporary communities in shelters where the civilians were brought for safety.