ILOILO – The military air strike in Barangay Alimodias, Miag-ao town on Dec. 1 was an indiscriminate carnage that violated the international humanitarian law, according to the human rights alliance Karapatan-Panay.
The air strike, which employed fighter jets, targeted suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
Karapatan-Panay, however, said disproportionate force was employed resulting to a carnage, with mutilated bodies strewn everywhere.
The group cited a village councilman’s radio interview detailing how two aircrafts flew over Sitio Burak, Barangay Alimodias followed by three big explosions, so big he felt the ground shake from more than a kilometer away.
Another four more explosions followed, believed to be from an artillery cannon fired by government troops.
“Such is a violation of the international humanitarian law, thus condemnable,” Karapatan-Panay said in a statement.
They stressed that the humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate actions that could injure civilians and cause excessive injury and unnecessary suffering and inflict excessive or long-term damage to the environment.
The group emphasized their call to the government, as it pursues an end to insurgency, to get to the roots of the problem.
“Give priority to lasting solutions to the poverty and injustice being suffered by the people instead of clamping on their legitimate grievances with iron hand,” the group said.
Sixteen rebels were killed, according to the Army. Nine have so far been identified. One was Joven Ceralvo alias “Lex” whom the military claimed was the second deputy secretary of Kometing Rehiyon-Panay (SF KR-P) Southern Front and commanding officer of the Front Operational Command, Kometing Rehiyon-Panay (FOC KR-P)./PN
