It did not take long for the agreement to unravel. Barely two days after the 60-day cease-fire lapsed, heavy fighting erupted in Lupao, a village 90 miles north of Manila. Eighteen people, among them twelve civilians, died in an early morning fire fight between an army patrol and a band of heavily armed Communist insurgents. Witnesses later charged that seven civilians had been massacred by government troops during the clash. By week's end, the unofficial death toll had grown to more than 70, including 41 civilians. With each new report of violence, any hope of reconciliation between the rebels and the...
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