(Updated 5:26 p.m.) Five Army soldiers were abducted Monday afternoon by communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Davao del Norte province, in the latest of a series of violent acts following the collapse of peace talks, authorities said Tuesday.

A sixth soldier identified only as Lt. Canitan was able to escape and reported the incident to authorities, said Senior Superintendent Ronald dela Rosa, director of the Davao City police.

He said the troops were en route to Panabo City from Barangay Mapula in Davao City “for admin purposes” on board two motorcycles when they were held at gunpoint by an undetermined number of NPA rebels manning a barricade.

Dela Rosa did not identify the abducted soldiers, only saying that they were from the 60th Infantry Battalion of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

Unarmed

Capt. Raul Villegas, 10ID deputy public affairs officer, said the abducted soldiers were unarmed.

“(The) troops were in civilian attire without any firearm because they were going to the market to procure food supplies and coordinate with an NGO [non-government organization] for the scheduled feeding program for the benefit of the community,” he said.

Dela Rosa said the rebels were led by one Ryan Pitao, who is reportedly under NPA leader Leoncio Pitao alias Kumander Paragu.

The rebels were reportedly dressed in military camouflage uniform “to deceive commuters.”

“However, Lt Canitan noticed unusual demeanor,” Villegas said. “Following his instinct he immediately leaped from the motorcycle and threw himself in a ravine to escape.”

Mounting violence

The NPA has been waging a 44-year-old Maoist armed campaign that has claimed at least 30,000 lives. The military estimates the NPA has about 4,000 fighters.

The government had been hoping to sign a pact to end the rebellion before President Benigno Aquino ended his six-year term in 2016. But the government said in April that peace talks had collapsed.

Last month, the government decided to stop pursuing formal peace talks with the NPA’s political arm, the National Democratic Front, which were “going nowhere.”

Peace negotiator Alexander Padilla also cited the “mounting violence” by the NPA on civilian targets as one of the factors behind the decision of the government, which would instead explore alternate means to end the decades-long communist insurgency.

Three soldiers were killed on June 4 in another part of Mindanao when they stumbled into a communist guerrilla jungle training camp and walked on a landmine.

Eight police commandos died last month when communist rebels ambushed them on Luzon, the country’s biggest island which is home to the nation’s capital.