The lives of a two-month old and a two-year old infant are now at risk as 94IB renewed their vicious attacks on civilians in the hinterland barangays of Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.

At about 7 am of April 22, more than 100 soldiers simultaneously occupied two sitios in Barangay Carabalan, namely Malikoliko and Cunalom and another one, Tigbao in Barangay Buenavista.

In Malikliko, around 30 soldiers entered the premises of four houses and threatened its residents. They were accompanied by their intelligence assets Jerjer Franciso of Tugas, a certain Louie aka “Berber of Dawahan, Barangay Buenavista, and Jered Gargoles of Maliliko.

In one of the houses they barged in, they keep on asking about the whereabouts of two-month old baby “Inday” and two-year old “Toto” whose parents 94IB red tagged as NPA members. The grandmother was given an ultimatum to surrender the babies or else suffer dreadful consequences.

Seven male residents were threatened to be killed if they will not evacuate from their houses along with their families. Soldiers prohibited them from tending their rice fields, the main source of their livelihood, on ground these are NPA’s communal farms.

The owner of the sole rice mill in the area was ordered to stop operation and evacuate. He received the same death threat. Soldiers accused of him supplying rice stocks to the NPA.

As a result, 24 individuals, among them 9 women and 10 children, were forcibly displaced from their homes and livelihood.

We are awaiting reports from other areas currently under military occupation.

These barbaric acts showed that 94IB have no qualm in harming civilians even babies in their desperation to crush the NPA. ###