President Duterte rules out negotiating with Islamist insurgents in Marawi
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday ruled out the possibility of allowing Islamic State-linked militants to flee a southern city in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages.
The militants seized large parts of Marawi City on the island of Mindanao in May, and a hard core of fighters has held out through more than 100 days of air strikes and ground attacks by troops. “No way,” Mr Duterte told reporters when asked about a rumour that one rebel leader, Omarkhayam Maute, had proposed releasing hostages in exchange for the safe exit of the militants.
Pockets of fighters remain in the ruins of the heart of a city devastated by artillery and bombings, in an occupation that has alarmed the region about the possibility of Islamic State (IS), on the back foot in Iraq and Syria, making a new home in the southern Philippines. The military has launched its final push to retake Marawi, and is coming under heavy fire from gunmen as troops try to secure buildings and navigate through mines and booby-traps.
The military estimates about 20 to 30 hostages are being held, some of whom it says were forced to take up arms against government troops.
“If I can save one life there, I am willing to wait one year [to retake the city],” Mr Duterte said of the hostages, after visiting wounded soldiers in Cagayan de Oro.