Philippines: Condemn AFP for aerial strafing and bombing in Mindanao and Mindorohil

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) strongly condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for its reckless and brutal strafing operations carried out using helicopter gunships under the cover of darkness past midnight yesterday in the areas between La Paz, Agusan del Sur, and Cabanglasan town, Bukidnon. These operations, purportedly intended to support ground troop actions against the New People’s Army (NPA), have inflicted trauma and fear upon civilian communities in the vicinity.

The AFP also deployed FA50 fighter jets that carry 250-lb or 500-lb bombs. However, according to reports, their mission was aborted when one of the jet fighters went missing on its way to Mindanao.

Such actions constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, which mandates the protection of civilian lives during armed conflict. The indiscriminate use of aerial bombardment and strafing, particularly when there are no clear military targets, is a flagrant use of excessive force. This not only endangers the lives of civilians but also reflects a gross disregard for the principles of proportionality and distinction in warfare.

This incident follows similar aerial assaults and rocket firings on March 1 in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, and February 19 in Pola, Oriental Mindoro. In each case, the AFP put civilian communities in danger, exacerbating the sufferings of peasant and Mangyan communities.

Such actions constitute blatant violations of international humanitarian law, which mandates the protection of civilian lives during armed conflict. These are carried out indiscriminately without clear military targets. These are a flagrant use of excessive force which not only endangers the lives of civilians but also reflects a gross disregard for the principles of proportionality and distinction in warfare. The use of aerial strafing and bombing also inflicts damage to the environment and wildlife.

These recent strafing and aerial bombing operations underscore the AFP’s the brutal and violent attacks directed against civilians in the course of its counterinsurgency operations. These are aimed at instilling fear among the peasant communities that it routinely accuses of supporting the New People’s Army. The AFP continues to intensify these attacks despite its repeated declarations that the New People’s Army is “a spent force” and has only “one weakened guerrilla front.”

The CPP calls on all peace-loving individuals and organizations to denounce the continued use of aerial bombing and strafing by the AFP and demand an immediate cessation to the use of excessive force that endanger the lives of civilians, causes widespread trauma and terror among the people, and violates international humanitarian law.

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