Gunmen Fire On U.n. Aid Truck In Philippines, 1 Dead

[Jollygoodfellow]

Another reason to get your trusty old water pistol out and hit someone in the eye.MANILA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on a delivery truck commissioned by the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) in the southern Philippines, killing a truck helper in what was the first attack on any U.N. unit in the country, an official from the agency said on Monday.The truck had just finished delivering bags of rice to temporary shelters in Muslim-dominated Lanao del Sur province and was returning to neighbouring Cotabato City on southern Mindanao island late on Sunday night when gunmen fired at the vehicle.Two other men on the truck were not hurt, the WFP said."WFP strongly deplores the senseless loss of life of an individual who was assisting in the delivery of humanitarian assistance," Stephen Anderson, WFP country director, said in a statement.In September, almost half of the total 60 bags of 50-kg rice donated by WFP to residents displaced by fighting between government troops and Muslim rebels was stolen by gunmen who blocked a WFP delivery truck in another part of Mindanao.The WFP has distributed more than 4,000 tonnes of rice, biscuits and dates to more than 700,000 displaced people since mid-August 2008 after violence escalated in six provinces on southern Mindanao island.Most of the villagers have returned home as fighting subsided in the last three weeks, disaster agency officials said, adding that about 60,000 to 70,000 people remained in temporary shelter areas.The WFP, which has been working in 80 countries across the globe, said it was well aware of risks involved in the delivery of emergency food assistance in conflict zones worldwide.The government wants to restart peace talks and end a decades-old Muslim secessionist conflict in the country that has kept most investors away from minerals-rich Mindanao island. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Valerie Lee)

[Mr Lee]

Very sad!The UK just posted a warning to their citizens, telling them not to visit the Philippines and I am sure other countries will issue similar warnings soon and especially if there are more bombings. The people doing the bombings do not realize that they are only costing their fellow Filipinos income, that all the foreigners would bring in and spend. A number of years back when the US posted their first warning about Mindanao, my wife and I were on a PAL flight filled with wives and children and when my wife got into conversations with some of the ladies, they told her that their husbands were afraid to go and they were surprised that I would go to the Philippines, no less the heart of Mindanao. I think that no matter where we are in this world, something can happen to us, so I refuse to give in to terrorist and I continue to live my life as if they did not exist, or they win.

[Mike S]

I've said it in the past and I'll say it again ...... most of these guys are nothing but thugs ..... murderers and bandits ...... most have no intentions of fighting for independence ...... this is just a license to do what they want anyway they want .....

[tom_shor]

Yes extorsion seems to be their main interest. Remember the negotaitions a few years ago with the Abu Sayif one of their big demands. A coconut plantation for their leader. And of course cash. They are indeed mostly just murdering bandits. They have to be delt with in some manner even so.