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Manila: The Philippine human rights body said on Thursday the military was responsible for the death of eight civilians, including a 4-year-old boy, in a raid on the southern island of Jolo.
A local director for the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), which conducted a probe into the incident, said the soldiers and the top military official on the island should be punished for the deaths on February 4
"In the military, ground troops follow their commander," said Jose Manuel Mamauag. "So, the blame should go higher."
Mamauag said a full CHR report on the deaths would be made available soon.
The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission said the findings of the state rights agency reinforced its own report that eight people died when troops fired indiscriminately during operations on Jolo against Islamist militants.
"The families of the dead should also be given adequate compensation and those requiring protection in the process of prosecuting the case in court, once it is filed, are given such arrangement," the rights group said in a statement on Thursday.
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