MANILA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines declared on Tuesday a "strategic defeat" of the New People's Army (NPA) rebels, who have been fighting against the government since the 1960s, saying there is no more active guerilla fronts in the country.

Eduardo Ano, National Security Adviser and former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said "thousands" of NPA insurgents have decided to return to the folds, with only some 1,100 NPA fighters left, down from a peak of 25,000 in the mid-1980s.

"The NPA has already been strategically defeated because there are no more active guerilla fronts anywhere in the country," Ano said, adding that the government is on track to dismantle all remaining weakened guerilla fronts before the end of the year.

"Now is the time to lay down their arms and rejoin the mainstream society," Ano said.

NPA rebels have been fighting the government troops since 1969. Despite the decreasing fighters, NPA rebels concentrate their attacks on rural areas and have skirmishes with the military.

According to military data, more than 40,000 people have been killed during the decades-old conflict. Enditem

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