Australia to help PH fight Maute
Australia will send troops to assist Philippine forces in the ongoing battle against Islamic State-inspired Maute Group in Marawi City, Australia’s Defense Minister Marise Payne said.
Small contingents of Australian soldiers will be sent to train Philippine troops, Payne said during a press conference with her Philippines’ counterpart Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in Manila.
“We are very committed to supporting the Philippines in its efforts to defend itself against terrorist threats,” Minister Payne said.
“This is a threat to the region that we all need to work together to defeat.”
Lorenzana said the Australian troops will train with their Filipino counterparts within the confines of Philippine military bases. He made it clear that Australian troops will not join in the fight against Maute terrorists in Marawi.
“It would not look good if we will be needing them to fight the war
here,” Lorenzana said, stressing that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has enough troops to fight the Maute terrorists.
Payne, who met with Lorenzana, said what they talked about is the deployment of small batch or batches of Australian Defense Force (ADD) teams that could help the AFP in specialized trainings dealing with terrorism.
“I think it's important to recognize that this is in effect an engagement in long term cooperation which is about recognizing that the challenge we face from terrorists in this region is going to be exacerbated by the potential of retuning foreign fighters, people who have been in the Middle East in the midst of the most extremist terrorism behaviour of the world has seen in a very long time,” Payne said.
Payne, however, clarified that the trainings are still in the planning stage.
“I think as the secretary (pointed out) we will have our officials task to do the planning, that is a part of that and that sort of information will be finalized in that process and we’ll be advising in due course but not today,” she said.
Payne said having joint military exercises with the Philippines is no longer new to Australia considering the existence of an effective defense program between the two countries.
Lorenzana also took the opportunity to thank the Australian government for the assistance it provided to the Philippine military, especially the P3 Orions.
“We are happy with the assistance that we are getting from Australia, the P3 Orions
and if they can send small detachment of Australian troops to train with our troops inside our bases,” he said.
“I think the help that we are getting from Australia is huge in terms of the help that they have been providing our troops on the ground. So I think it doesn’t matter really if they give us those token of, token force. But the effect that they will give to our… the support or the kind of help that they will give to us is enormous, I think that’s what we need to talk about, bigger involvement or support from Australia,” he said.
The Maute Group swept through Marawi on May 23 and have held parts of it despite sustained ground attacks by hundreds of soldiers and daily pummeling by planes and artillery.
Inching closer
Military forces continue to inch toward the remaining strongholds of the terrorist group in a final push to drive away the ISIS-inspired gunmen in the once bustling Islamic City in Mindanao.
Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP information officer, said that the Maute forces continue to diminish based on the assessment and information they have been receiving from ground commanders.
“We continue our assault against the enemy’s remaining positions that are gradually reduced daily. Their defenses as well as their strength continue to wane,” said Arevalo.
What slows down the military operation, according to Arevalo, is the presence of civilian hostages which, he said, are being used as human shields by the remaining Maute Group forces.
The official said they are also receiving report that the hostages are being forced to fight with the soldiers by arming them with guns to make it appear that they are their fighters.
“We are still very mindful of the presence of civilian hostages,” said Arevalo.
Forty-five civilians have died since the start of the gun battle on May 23. Almost all of the victims were either executed by the Maute Group or caught in the crossfire.
But Arevalo said they expect more civilian casualties once they enter the main battle zone.
He recalled that soldiers have been recovering bodies of civilians each time they retake major battle zones in int eh city.
“We are expecting to retrieve more victims of the Maute-ISIS group when we proceed to the main battle area, parts of it laden with mines, booby traps and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs),” said Arevalo.
Aside from civilian casualties, 655 Maute members have been killed, according to military data.
On the part of the government, a total of 145 soldiers and policemen have been killed while more than 1,000 were wounded.
The military could not say when the fighting would end. Martial law, which was implemented on May 23, remains in effect in the entire Mindanao. (With a report from Aaron B. Recuenco)