Philippine forces hit militants; civilians wave white flags

Mr Duterte said it was needed to safeguard national security.

The mere retaliation of the armed Moro group against the raid of AFP elements in Marawi City, if there ever was, does not justify the president’s declaration of martial law in Marawi City, more so in the whole of Mindanao.

He said these groups, referring to the notorious local Maute Group, are trying to ally with the “Daesh”, the Arabic word for ISIS, and are “feverishly wanting to comply with requirements that have been set for them”, mainly involving violent activities. “They want to create Mindanao as part of the caliphate”.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said government forces are working to “clear the city of all remnants of this group”.

Hailing fallen government troopers, Westmincom commander Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez Jr. said, “They made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that the city (of Marawi) will be cleared from terror threat and immediately restore normalcy in that part of Mindanao”.

“That’s why we are appealing to you now while there’s still time, to exercise your common sense, he said”.

The southern Philippines, particularly the resource-rich but poverty-wracked Mindanao region, has always been a hotbed of activity by the Abu Sayyaf and other fundamentalist groups.

“The festering rebellion of the Maute terrorist group which has pledged allegiance to the virulent ISIS, otherwise know as Daesh in Arabic, is a compelling reason why martial law was declared”, he said. Some of the Militants are from Indonesia.

The latest deaths raise the overall death toll to more than 40 from the urban fighting, which has sparked an exodus of Marawi residents and prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial rule in the country’s restive south.

However, he has also offered dialogue to militants who are not on the streets fighting.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Jose Calida said that the proclamation of Martial Law and thesuspension of the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus in Mindanao should not be “a cause for alarm for the law-abiding citizens”. Duterte has told police to “spare no one” fighting them and has assured terrorists, “you will die” if confronting officers.

Cardinal Luis Tagle released a statement Thursday afternoon pleading for prayers for the besieged city: “We must ask what makes people hurt their neighbor?”

Duterte said he regretted he could not be the first one to have a go at the young woman.

The southern Philippine region has always been a hotbed of fundamentalist activity, including terror groups like Abu Sayyaf.

Witnesses say gunmen were flying black flags of the Islamic State group.

While up to 90 percent of Marawi’s people have fled amid the fighting, many who were trapped or refused to leave their homes have impeded military assaults, officials said.

Abu Sayyaf has a track record of banditry, piracy and violence, while the lesser-known Maute group has proven itself a fierce battlefield opponent for the military, able to sustain air and artillery bombardments and regroup after heavy losses.

People were also protesting out of concern the martial law was too broadly applied. Hapilon is on Washington’s list of most-wanted terrorists and has a $5 million bounty on his head. At least eleven soldiers and 31 militants had been killed.