Philippines urges rebels to halt siege
NO LET UP: Special Forces turn to heavy firepower as hunt for rebel leader narrows
ILIGAN CITY: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appealed to ISlinked militants on Friday to abandon hostilities and start dialogue in an effort to end their bloody occupation of a southern city that experts called a major blow to regional security.
Duterte said the presence of foreign fighters in street battles that have raged since Tuesday in Marawi City was proof that IS had gained a foothold on the restive island of Mindanao, but there was still a chance for peace.
“You can say that the IS is here already,” Duterte told soldiers in nearby Iligan City. “My message mainly to the terrorists on the other side is we can still solve this through dialogue.
And if you cannot be convinced to stop fighting, so be it. Let’s just fight.”
Special forces commandoes were deployed to drive out the remaining 20 to 30 Maute group rebels holedup in Marawi but encountered heavy resistance on Friday.
The army said 11 soldiers and 31 militants have been killed.
Fighting erupted on Tuesday after a bungled raid by security forces on a Maute hideout, which spiralled into chaos, with gunmen seizing bridges, roads and buildings and taking Christians hostage.
Duterte responded by declaring martial law throughout his home island of Mindanao.
Rohan Gunaratna, a Singaporebased security expert, said the siege was a wake-up call for the Philippines.
“IS capturing a major city in the Philippines is a very significant blow to the security and stability of this region,” he said.
“The Filipinos need to get their act together... They must understand the truth that IS ideology took hold in their country. The local groups have transformed.”
Malaysians, Indonesians and other foreigners were among the guerrillas killed on Thursday, which the government said demonstrated how the Philippines could become a haven for overseas militants.
Most of Marawi’s 200,000 inhabitants fled after the gunmen ran amok on Tuesday, seizing and torching buildings, freeing militants from jails and taking a priest and churchgoers hostage at the city’s cathedral.
Duterte has dealt with separatist unrest during his 22 years as a mayor in Mindanao but the Maute’s rise and signs that it has ties to another group, the Abu Sayyaf, present one of the biggest challenges of a presidency won on promises to fight drugs and lawlessness.
Philippine intelligence indicates the two groups from different parts of Mindanao are connected, through Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of a radical faction of Abu Sayyaf.