Troops rescue 182 Marawi residents
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Government troops rescued yesterday morning 182 residents who were trapped in two areas taken over by Islamic State-inspired Maute terrorists in Marawi City
Also yesterday, a Maute sniper shot dead a civilian, a military official said.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, said the fatality was approaching soldiers to seek help when he was shot dead by a terrorist sniper.
Some 20 civilians have been killed by Maute bandits since the gunmen attacked Marawi last May 23. Brig. Gen. Rolando Joselito Bautista,
commander of the Joint Task Force ZamPelan, condemned the Maute snipers for shooting civilians.
Bautista said the act of the terrorists is proof of their blatant disregard for the life of innocent people.
“They attacked the city and put the lives of everyone in Marawi in grave danger including women, children and the elderly. It is the people of Marawi who suffered because of their evil un-Islamic deeds,” Bautista said.
He called on the people of Marawi to stand united against terrorism.
“The fight against terrorism is not the sole duty of the security sector but the responsibility of everyone,” Bautista added.
Galvez said there are 1,236 civilians trapped in the city. The military official said the rescued civilians endured hunger, thirst and sleepless nights.
According to the military, one of the victims said they could not go out from where they hid as the terrorists might see and kill them.
“They killed civilians, even their fellow Maranaws who cannot recite the prayer or even the Shahada, with even one wrong word. Do they expect someone to recite the prayer while they poked guns at you?” the soldiers quoted some of the civilians as saying.
“The terrorist snipers have no heart, they kill civilians who just want to live,” the rescued victims told the soldiers.
Galvez said the troops are committed to exert all efforts to rescue those civilians still trapped in Marawi.
He said military units were conducting clearing operations street by street and enter buildings and rooms to rescue residents.
“While at the same time the troops clear the city street by street, building by building and room by room and inch by inch to neutralize all the armed threats so that peace will reign in Marawi again,” Galvez said.
He hopes for an early resolution of the conflict so the people of Marawi could return to their homes and live normal lives.
The military said 120 terrorists have so far been killed, with 42 bodies recovered and the rest of the Maute fatalities confirmed by eyewitnesses.
Glavez said that many terrorists have recently surrendered and turned over to soldiers 98 highpowered firearms.
The military officials also said government forces suffered 38 killed in action and scores wounded in the continuing efforts to remove the terrorists from Marawi. With many residents still trapped in Marawi City, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has offered to become the “neutral intermediary” for their evacuation.
In a statement, ICRC head of delegation Pascal Porchet said almost two weeks have passed since the clashes in Marawi City erupted and the number of casualties continues to grow.
“We are extremely concerned about the residents who could not leave their homes because of the fighting and also those who are reportedly being held against their will. We are also deeply worried about reports of civilians being killed,” he noted.
ICRC has transported nearly 600 people from Marawi City to the Sa- guiaran evacuation center or even as far as Iligan City. The Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) has donated an initial P1 million worth of medicine for the displaced residents in Marawi. Coursed through its corporate social responsibility arm PHAPCares Foundation, PHAP sent the first batch of medicine to Iligan City via the Philippine Air Force. It will be for the use of the Department of Health (DOH) and the DOH-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The donations will help complement the government’s stock of medicine and resources for disaster response and will help them immediately respond to the medical needs of evacuees. –