All 39 victims seized by the New People's Army (NPA) in early May have been freed, confirmed the Philippine Army.
According to the army spokesperson, the NPA members, who wanted to use the civilians as “human shields” to stop government forces’ attacks, released 36 people on May 4 and the remaining on May 5. All of them are gold miners in Mahayahay village in Mindanao.
The case took place on May 3, one day after Filipino police arrested a leader of the force on the charge of masterminding the killing of many government soldiers in Davao del Sur and Cotabato provinces.
The NPA, which has around 4,000 members, has been operating since 1969.
President Benigno Aquino has hoped to reach a peace deal with the rebels before his six-year term ends in 2016, but peace talks have so far yielded no results.-VNA
