SIXTY-ONE members of the Maute Group have been killed since Tuesday last week when clashes with government forces erupted in Marawi City.
Aerial fire continued yesterday to dislodge the armed group from the city.
Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the firefights have also resulted in the death of 15 soldiers and policemen and 19 civilians, with 16 bodies retrieved on Saturday and yesterday.
Attack helicopters continued to deliver machine gun fire and rockets toward positions of the Maute members who, Padilla said, are “still held up within the pockets of the city.”
“Precision air strikes and artillery fire will likewise continue at specific targets to hasten the clearing,” he said. The military began aerial attack of enemy positions last Thursday.
Plumes of smoke were seen on the horizon and helicopters fired at least eight rockets on rebel positions. A surveillance drone circled the sky above Marawi City.
Some civilians left on foot, others were seen tying white cloths to poles to distinguish themselves from militants as soldiers huddled behind armored vehicles slowly advanced. An ambulance was seen speeding away from the fighting and soldiers said a captured militant
was inside.
Tens of thousands of people have fled Marawi since Tuesday, when militants went on the rampage seizing a school, a hospital, and a cathedral.
Christians were taken hostage, according to church leaders, and more than 100 inmates, among them militants, were freed when rebels took over two jails.
Padilla said 124 trapped civilian residents have been rescued by government forces since the start of the operations. He implied more residents are trapped as he said the “priority of ongoing military action is likewise aimed at aiding residents who are still trapped in the city’s interiors.”
Padilla appealed to civilians for cooperation.
“Our forces are working overtime to hasten the restoration of the rule of law and Marawi’s return to normalcy. We can only do this if we have the full cooperation of our citizens in these affected areas,” he said.
Asked if government forces are close to clearing Marawi City of Maute men, Padilla said, “We’re leaning forward to do that. But if there are changes on the ground, complications that will crop up, that will not be hastened.”
On Wednesday last week, the military said it is eyeing to clear the city of Maute men in two to three days. Padilla said “tactical considerations on the ground” affect the timeline.
“So right now, we are not giving any timeline because of the developments,” he said.
FATALITIES
Padilla said of the 61 slain Maute members, only 42 bodies were recovered. The 19 other deaths were confirmed by eyewitness accounts, he said.
On the government side, he said 11 of the 15 fatalities were soldiers. One of the four slain policemen was beheaded by the Maute, he also said. Thirty-nine soldiers and policemen were wounded.
Padilla reported that eight civilians -- three women, a child and four males -- were found dead along a roadway about 300 meters away from the Mindanao State University on Saturday. He said eight more male cadavers were retrieved yesterday near a bridge.
“This development validates a series of reports of atrocities committed by the militants earlier and brings to 19 total number of civilians killed by the terrorists. We are still validating other reports of atrocities,” he said.
Padilla said authorities earlier confirmed the death of an ambulance driver and two more civilians.
Previous reports said nine civilians were also slain by the Maute Group but the military has yet to validate this. “It’s possible that this is separate from the nine workers reportedly killed whose remains have yet to be recovered,” he said.
“If there are more, they will be added to the (casualty) figures but there is still no basis to add these because they are yet to be reported (by the PNP),” he said.
`TRAITOR’
Bodies of what appeared to be executed civilians were found in a ravine outside the city.
The eight dead men, most of them shot in the head and some with hands tied behind their backs, were laborers who were stopped by the Maute men on the outskirts of Marawi City while trying to flee clashes, according to police.
Nine spent bullet casings were found on a blood-stained patch of road at the top of the ravine. Attached to one of the bodies was a sign that said “Munafik” (traitor).
Marawi police officer Jamail C Mangadang told Reuters the eight men found dead were carpenters who were part of an evacuation convoy stopped by rebels late on Saturday.
Recalling information provided by their manager, Mangadang said the victims were pulled off a truck because they were unable to cite verses of the Koran, the Islamic Holy text.
“We heard gunfire, although I’m not sure if it was the same people who were shot,” he said at the scene.
The violence erupted in the moments after a failed attempt by security forces to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group who the government believes is Islamic State’s point-man in the Philippines.
The military is certain the Maute are protecting Hapilon and had narrowed down his location.
Islamic State’s Amaq news agency last week claimed responsibility for the Maute’s brazen siege. Unverified statements claiming to be from the extremists have appeared online, declaring the city of 200,000 people the “Islamic City of Marawi”.
Padilla belied reports that soldiers and policemen who are manning checkpoints in the city have no badges or identification.
“Checkpoints follow strict protocols and are strictly complied with. These reports if true, may be of unauthorized armed elements and should be discretely documented and reported. We have issued orders to our forces to ascertain these reports and deal with it,” said Padilla.
Some of those trapped in Marawi had called and text-messaged a hotline pleading with the military to stop the air strikes, according to Zia Alonto Adiong, a local politician coordinating complex efforts to evacuate civilians, dead and alive.
“Some have no food at all. Some fear for their lives,” he told Reuters.
“This is a conflict that has gone beyond proportion. The magnitude of the degree of the damage and the people that are affected ... it’s really massive.”
PASS THE HAT
Deputy Speaker Miro Quimbo of Marikina said he would spearhead a fundraising campaign to help the victims of Marawi City crisis by asking his colleagues to donate money from their salaries.
Rep. Sherwin Tugna (PL, Cibac) backed the fund drive as well as Rep. Ben Evardone (PDP-Laban, Eastern Samar).
Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu of Batangas called on huge corporations to provide cash and food items to support the immediate relief efforts in conflict areas.
“The country’s biggest corporations can contribute hugely in extending assistance to the victims and the rebuilding efforts, hopefully the Marawi City crisis will be over very soon,” said Abu.
http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/marawi-conflict-air-strikes-continue-61-maute-men-killed
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