Duterte ‘not aware’ but Abella acknowledges US role in Marawi clash

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte said on Sunday he was not aware the US government was providing assistance to Philippine government troops in its battle against Islamist militants in a southern city.

Mr. Duterte also said he “never approached America” for help. “I am not aware of that until they arrived,” he told a media briefing when asked about US support to fight the pro-Islamic State militants led by the Maute terrorist group in Marawi City, the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur in the Philippines’ South.

Meanwhile, Mr. Duterte’s spokesman, Ernesto C. Abella said of US assistance in Marawi, which is now on its third week under siege: “The United States is assisting the Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP) in its operations in Marawi but this is limited to technical assistance.”

“We have standing protocols which are already in place under the Mutual Defense Board- Security Engagement Board with the US under the purview of the PHLUS Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951. It does not involve any boots on the ground, nor is there any direct participation in combat operations, a matter prohibited by law,” Mr. Abella also said, adding that “The Philippines is open to assistance from other countries if they offer it.”

The continuing military offensive remains widely anticipated amid an earlier vow by authorities to liberate besieged Marawi City by Independence Day today.

Earlier, on Sunday morning, four civilians who had been trapped inside this provincial capital of Lanao del Sur were rescued through a “peace corridor” created by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

In a statement on Sunday, June 11, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process ( OPAPP) said the civilians rescued include three Maranaos and a Christian holed up in Brgy. Moncado Colony.

“The civilians have been trapped... since the start of the conflict,” OPAPP said. “They were transferred (to) the medical clinic in Capitol Grounds of the city and are currently being given medical assistance.”

According to OPAPP, government troops were able to locate the trapped individuals when Department of Education (DepEd)ARMM worker Hanifa Ampuan, wife of one of the rescued civilians, coordinated with authorities regarding the whereabouts of her husband and his companions.

with a report by Reuters