The evacuees from Sitios Tibok and Dulay in Bacung village in Tulunan town, were temporarily housed in a multipurpose building in the village’s center.
German Braga, a resident of nearby Lampagang village, also in Tulunan, said the evacuees, are suffering from colds and other respiratory illness.
“The evacuation was immediate because the fighting in the hinterlands was so intense,” said Braga.
The evacuees, according to village officials, are still apprehensive to return home for fear of renewed fighting between the rebels and the Army.
Braga said they monitored movement of the Army on Monday dawn. Two military trucks loaded with soldiers reached the village's center, around 1 a.m., on that day.
At around 10:15 a.m., also on that day, they heard gunshots, just a few meters away from the center.
In a radio interview, 57th IB commander Lt. Col. Milfredo Meligrito ordered his men to scour Bacung village after he received reports that the NPA under Front 72 Far South Regional Command had been training recruits in the area.
While on their way, the troops encountered some 30 NPA rebels and engaged them in a 30-minute firefight, which resulted to death of a suspected rebel they identified as Jimmy Camin, also known as Ka Adonis and a resident of Magsaysay town in Davao del Sur.
After the fighting, the troops overran an NPA training camp in the area, Meligrito said.
He said the operations will continue until the NPA stops its revolutionary taxation in the area. The NPA has yet to issue a statement on the incident. (Malu Cadelina-Manar/MindaNews)