Philippines: January 19, 2005

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 The NPA lost fifty men when the fighters surrendered to the army in the southern Philippines. The former rebels accused the NPA of not delivering on promises of economic help. The NPA is a communist movement, calling for social and economic reforms. The fifty men turned in weapons, and said they would be willing to take the rifles and shotguns back and form a local militia to keep the NPA from coming back. 

Also in the southern Philippines. a bomb, hidden in a thermos bottle, was found and defused. The bomb had been left in a crowded market. As is usual in these cases, the bombers may have been criminals (running an extortion racket) or Islamic terrorists.