AFP STOPS SETTING DEADLINES FOR END TO MARAWI CRISIS

After failing to meet their own deadline for putting an end to the Marawi crisis, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it will no longer set deadlines.

“We will not set deadlines. We will ensure that we are able to clear it of any armed elements that still exist and it may take some time,” said Armed Forces spokesperson Restituto Padilla Jr.

The military had targeted to clear Marawi, an Islamic city in Lanao del Sur in Mindanao, of Muslim militants by Philippine Independence Day on June 12.

Fighting between government troops and the Maute Group, a local terror group identified with militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, has continued to rage well after June 12.

Military officials then vowed to end the crisis within this week. The conflict entered its fourth week yesterday, with the military claiming that the enemy was growing weaker.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the remaining Muslim fighters were holed up in only four of 96 villages in the city.

The armed conflict started on May 23 when government troops raided the hideout of Hapilon in Marawi.

Hapilon, aided by the Maute Group, resisted and instead took control of some parts of the city. The militants also took some civilians as hostages.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao shortly after the clashes broke out.

Padilla attributed the “slow process of liberating Marawi” to the state forces’ “judicious and deliberate” execution of military operations.

“Our rules of engagement are very different in urban terrain. We have to be very careful. We have to be very judicious. We have to be very deliberate so as to avoid hitting innocent lives. And this is where the slow process of liberating Marawi is currently happening,” he said.

Padilla said the military is now targeting to clear Marawi’s urban terrain, “where the problem lies.”

He said the government troops have to be careful in enforcing offensives against the militants in urban areas because this is where “civilians are still currently trapped and may possibly be used as human shields or may be hit by crossfire.”

“So we will continue to take care of these areas. We will progressively get in and neutralize these targets if they opt to take care of these areas,” Padilla said.

“We will progressively get in and neutralize these targets if they opt to keep on fighting. But we will have to do it on a very painstaking manner in consideration of lives still trapped in the area,” he added.

To expedite the clearing operations in Marawi City, the military is not closing its doors on military assistance from other nations like China and Russia, said Padilla.

Padilla, however, said it would take time to get the desired military assistance from other countries because it has to go through a process.

Officials earlier confirmed that United States troops are providing technical assistance to the Philippine military in its fight against Maute members.

“Yes, we asked for their help. We requested them to stay there and provide us assistance because we don’t have such capability [to fight against terrorism alone],” he said.