The New People's Army (NPA) has released another video of two Philippine soldiers the militants abducted two months ago. The video showed NPA militants with abducted soldiers PFC Marnel Cinches and PFC Jerrel Yorong, at a camp located in the mountains. NPA spokesman Allan Juanito gave a statement in the video. He said the government refused to grant the NPA demand for a 10-day suspension of military operations (SOMO) in exchange for the safe release of the soldiers.
Juanito said the Philippine military has launched operations to rescue the soldiers. He claimed that seven armed encounters have resulted in 11 casualties to military troops.
Juanito said the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) reduced its request from a 10-day SOMO to 7 days. He said that they would free the two soldiers if they get a release order from the NDFP.