Duterte ‘sorry for war’
Offensive against militants renewed
ILIGAN, Philippines, June 20, (Agencies): Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apologised Tuesday for a military offensive that has left the nation’s main Muslim city in ruins, but said it was needed to crush militants linked to the Islamic State group.
Duterte also vowed that US-backed air strikes on Marawi would continue, as the conflict entered its fifth week with no sign of an end and its reported death toll climbed towards 370.
“I am very, very, very sorry that this happened to us. I hope that soon you will find it in your heart to forgive my soldiers and government and even me,” Duterte said in a speech at an evacuation centre near Marawi for people who have fled the fighting.
The fighting has seen Marawi, considered the Muslim capital of the largely Catholic Philippines, turn from a bustling trading centre into one resembling war-torn cities in Iraq or Syria.
It began when hundreds of militants waving black Islamic State flags rampaged through Marawi on May 23, torching buildings and taking
placed in custody while four attackers were killed at the scene, Security Minister Salif Traore told AFP. He said 36 mostly French and Malian hostages were freed following the incident at the Kangaba Le Campement resort on Sunday afternoon. (AFP) Christian hostages.
Duterte immediately imposed martial law across the entire southern region of Mindanao, home to 20 million people, saying the assault was the start of an IS bid to establish a caliphate there.
Hundreds of civilians are still believed to be trapped in the militantcontrolled areas, according to local authorities and aid workers.
Duterte said his ground troops would lose the battle if they fought without the air support.
“The military said if we don’t use them (bombs), we would be dragged even deeper into this. We will be finished off,” he said.
“If we won’t use them, our soldiers will all be killed.”
A few hours before Duterte spoke, Philippine OV-10 Bronco planes were seen making diving attacks on Marawi, followed by deafening explosions.
Sixty-two soldiers have died in the conflict, including 10 killed in a “friendly fire” bombing, according to authorities.
DNA tests on ‘Che’ inconclusive:
A second set of tests on the suspected remains of Burkina Faso’s iconic ex-president Thomas Sankara have returned inconclusive, with “no DNA profile” to confirm it was his body, the family’s lawyer has said.
Sometimes referred to as Africa’s “Che Guevara”, Sankara died during a coup d’etat in October 1987 with the circumstances of his death a mystery.
Although the 37-year-old former army captain’s death certificate said he died of “natural causes”, several reports have suggested he was executed by a hit squad at government headquarters.
In May 2015, remains believed to be those of Sankara and 12 colleagues were exhumed from a cemetery in the capital Ouagadougou as part of an investigation into their deaths. (AFP)