Filipino rebels ‘take over’ city
President imposes martial law as Mindanao battle rages
THOUSANDS of civilians fled fighting in the Philippines yesterday as troops sought to contain Islamic State-linked militants who took over large parts of a city, set buildings ablaze and took a Catholic priest and other Christians hostage.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on his native island of Mindanao following a failed raid by soldiers on Tuesday on a hideout of the Maute militant group, which triggered clashes and chaos across the largely Muslim city of Marawi.
Duterte has long threatened martial law to destroy the Maute group and the allied Abu Sayyaf, which he warns are trying to create an IS presence in the Christian-majority Philippines.
He says they must be stopped before it is too late.
He cut short a visit to Russia and warned there would be a tough response, likening the situation to the 1970s rule of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, remembered by many Filipinos as one of the darkest chapters of their recent history.
Duterte said martial law under Marcos was “very good” and he might consider more security measures elsewhere in the Philippines.
“I was asked what would be my response to terrorism and I said I would be harsh and harsh in enforcing the law,” Duterte told reporters upon arrival in Manila.
“I have always said do not force my hand into it because if I start to declare martial law I will solve all the problems of Mindanao connected with law and order.”
Soldiers and rebels set up checkpoints and road blocks on routes out of Marawi and a stream of men, women and children fled from late on Tuesday and yesterday, cramming into jeeps loaded with belongings. The military gave few details about the clashes nor did they say if any rebels had been killed.
The armed forces said the situation was under control but residents who fled told a different story and said Marawi was in the hands of the rebels, who had allowed civilians to leave.
“The city is still under the control of the armed group. They are all over the main roads and two bridges leading to Marawi,” student Rabani Mautum said. “I was in school when we heard gunfire… When we came out there were bloodstains in the building.”
The rebels took hostage Father Chito Suganob, a priest at the city’s Cathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians, and several other Christians. – Reuters