Marawi fighting leaves 21 dead, 31 wounded

From the Philippine Star (May 25): Marawi fighting leaves 21 dead, 31 wounded



Armored personnel carriers are deployed in a firefight with Maute and Abu Sayyaf bandits in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. MOHAMMAD MANSHAWI FACEBOOK PHOTO, File

Government forces flushed out Maute group militants from their positions in Marawi City last night, leaving at least 21 people dead and 31 wounded, officials said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Affairs Office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said 13 of the fatalities were gunmen of the Islamic State (IS)-inspired Maute group that had occupied the hospital and city hall in Marawi since Tuesday.

Five soldiers and two policemen also died while 31 soldiers were wounded in sporadic clashes with the militants, he said.

Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. added some 120 civilians snatched by the militants were rescued.

The civilians were used as human shields by the militants who holed out at the Amai Pakpak Medical Center.

The civilians included eight patients, 49 construction workers and 21 hospital staff.

Troops also cleared the Dansalan College and rescued 42 teachers who were trapped inside during the attack.

Five soldiers were killed and 31 were wounded in the attempt to rescue the hostages, Galvez said.

Galvez said the troops accounted for 13 Maute gunmen killed, with two bodies of the militants recovered at the scene of the firefight.
Alert

The rampage forced President Duterte to declare martial law in the entire region of Mindanao on Tuesday night.

Duterte had to cut short his trip to Russia after learning the Maute group attempted to occupy Marawi City in the same way the IS took over large areas of Syria and Iraq.

Police units nationwide were ordered to strengthen security measures to prevent possible diversionary attacks from the Maute.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) reminded its commanders that full alert status remains in effect all over the country.

“All unit commanders are directed to strengthen target hardening on vital installations, economic key points as well as places of convergences and ensure high state of operational readiness to thwart any hostile action that may be launched by terror groups,” PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos said.

Carlos denied reports that the rebels seized government installations. He said no government buildings are under rebel control.

On reports that the militants took over Amai Pakpak, Carlos said the Maute gunmen only sought treatment for their wounded comrades.

“They were there to seek medical assistance,” he said.

Carlos added they have not received reports that the militants beheaded several civilians.

He said the PNP is monitoring the actual situation in Marawi through the crisis management committees activated by the regional and national headquarters.

Officials reminded Marawi residents to remain calm and stay in their homes or evacuate to safer places as security forces pursue the rebels.

“We appeal to the public to be extra vigilant and responsive by providing information on enemy location and their movements so government forces can swiftly conclude this important security operation,” Carlos said.

Reports identified one of the slain police officer as Senior Insp. Freddie Solar who was killed in the initial shootout.

Solar, chief of the regional Drug Enforcement Group in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, was accompanying his wife at a hospital in Marawi when the militants killed him during the attack.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/05/25/1703418/marawi-fighting-leaves-21-dead-31-wounded

Thousands flee Marawi City after Maute group rampage

From Malay Business Insight (May 25): Thousands flee Marawi City after Maute group rampage

THIRTEEN members of the Maute Group have been killed since fighting with government troops erupted Tuesday in Marawi City, the military said yesterday.

But only two enemy bodies have been recovered, said Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the AFP public affairs office.

“Thirteen died from their side, including two body counts. From our side, we have five killed in action and 31 wounded in action. That is only on the side of the AFP,” said Arevalo.

Reports said two policemen died and two others were wounded in the incident.

Thousands of civilians fled the fighting as troops sought to contain the Maute group which took over parts of a city, set a building ablaze, and captured a Catholic priest and other Christians.

Arevalo also said AFP Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez needs two to three more days to clear the entire city of Maute men.

“He says he will be needing two to three days to completely clear Marawi. We have to be very cautious. As we have said they (Maute) have  snipers and they laid improvised explosive devices,” he said.

Arevalo reported that government troops have cleared the Amai Pakpak Hospital, the city hall, and the Mindanao State University of Maute members.
As to other areas, Arevalo said: “I don’t have specific information how many.”

He said there are about 50 to 80 Maute Group members still in Marawi City who have to be dislodged.

Tuesday’s raid was aimed at capturing Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group notorious for piracy, banditry and for kidnapping and beheading Westerners. The military has not explained how the raid on an apartment hideout went   badly wrong and resulted in Maute gunmen going on the rampage and taking over roads, bridges, buildings and a hospital.

But Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, in a press conference in Russia on Tuesday night, said the Maute men managed to penetrate Marawi City because of their sympathizers. He said the Hapilon and the Maute Group members posed as civilians, thus they were not initially detected.
Lorenzana said civilians spotted Hapilon in the group and reported his presence to government troops. He said Hapilon’s group was composed of around 100 men, contrary to initial military reports that the group was composed of around 15 men only.

“Hapilon was there, he was seeking medical attention and when he was approached in his hideout or when his safehouse was approached to arrest him, they started firing at our soldiers, that’s why we have this encounter,” said Lorenzana.

Lorenzana said he spoke with 1st Infantry Division commander Brig. Gen. Roland Bautista on Tuesday night and was informed that soldiers were holding their ground for the night so that more troops can be brought in.

Asked if there was intelligence lapse, Lorenzana said: “I don’t think there is a lapse in intelligence. It’s just appreciation of the intelligence that was lacking there.”

“They were expecting to arrest Mr. Isnilon. They didn’t know that he was backed up by more or less 100 armed fighters but we will be able to contain them as we go along, by tomorrow or the next two days,” said Lorenzana.

CHECKPOINTS, ROADBLOCKS

Soldiers and rebels set up checkpoints and roadblocks on routes in and out of Marawi as a stream of men, women and children fled. Long queues of pickup trucks and jeeps crammed full of people and loaded with belongings snaked on roads leading into nearby towns.

Battles abated yesterday as the military tried to isolate Maute fighters while awaiting reinforcements to the city of 200,000 people, which an official described as a ghost town. Maute snipers and booby traps were hampering operations, which could last three more days, the military said.

The Catholic Church said rebels had taken hostage Fr.  Chito Suganob, a priest at Marawi’s Cathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians, and several churchgoers.

“They have threatened to kill the hostages if the government forces unleashed against them are not recalled,” said Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
“We beg every Filipino to pray fervently.”

GHOST TOWN

Myrna Jo Henry, information officer at the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao government’s Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team, said 800 of the evacuees are staying at an evacuation center at the provincial capitol, also in Marawi City.

The others, Henry said, fled to Iligan City and nearby towns. She could not immediately give numbers as to the evacuees who are not staying at the provincial capitol.

Citing information from ARRM Vice Gov. Haroun Alrashid Lucman Jr., Henry said the city proper was like a “ghost town.”
“In the words of our vice governor, (the city proper of) Marawi is like a ghost town. If the description is ghost town, there are probably thousands (of evacuees),” said Henry.

“Based on the report that we got, there was some sort of march out of the city. Many people walked out from the city, there were also a lot of vehicles in the streets, and there were also many checkpoints,” she said.

Henry said the barangays affected by the conflict are Basak Malutlut, Caloocan, Abubakar, and Bangolo. There are close to 100 barangays in Marawi City.
PROPAGANDA

Arevalo appealed to the people not to allow themselves to be used by Maute Group propagandists who have been taking advantage of the social media platform.

“Don’t let yourselves be used for propaganda by the other side. There are a lot of information coming out, like the beheading of people, occupation of (facilities), hostage-taking, among others,” said Arevalo.

“We are not saying outrightly that these are not true but it’s easy to claim these. That’s why your Armed Forces is saying we have to validate these information and we will be the one giving you the true account of the situation,” said Arevalo.

A source said the Maute Group members and their supporters and sympathizers have burned various facilities including the Ninoy Aquino College, the Dansalan College, a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology city jail, and the Maria Auxilladora parish church.

He also said the Maute Group is holding four hostages – Fr. Chito Sucano, Ma Louisa Colina, Wendelyn Mayormita and Crispina Banrang.
The same source said that the Maute Group members are spread in at least 11 barangays -- Basak Malutlut, Bangon, Saber, Tuca, Baggolo, Naga, Monkado Colony, Caloocan, Marinaut, Mapandi, and Matampay.

PRISONERS FREED

In a statement, the interior department confirmed that an armed group attacked the Marawi City jail and the Malabang District Jail and freed 107 inmates on Tuesday night.

Citing a report from the BJMP ARRM regional director Mamerto Delloro, the DILG said about 50 Maute members “entered the jail compound, disarmed and tied up the 12 jail officers of the facility, destroyed the jail’s padlocks, and let all the inmates out from their cells.”

“The armed men also carted away assorted issued firearms of the BJMP personnel, two SUVs and two motorcycles, and mobile phones owned by the jail guards on duty,” it also said. It said the group commandeered two prison vans.

https://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/13-maute-men-killed-marawi-%E2%80%98ghost-town%E2%80%99

WATCH: Marawi residents flee clashes on Day 1 of Martial Law

From Rappler (May 25): WATCH: Marawi residents flee clashes on Day 1 of Martial Law



President Rodrigo Duterte is already threatening to expand his Martial Law declaration to cover the entire country. If there's anything we learned, he doesn't make empty threats about martial law.

It's Day 1 of Martial Law in Mindanao. Rappler multimedia reporter Carmela Fonbuena filed this report.

We’re coming to you from Iligan City in Mindanao. It is the first day of implementation of martial law which is prompted by clashes between troops and local terrorist groups in nearby Marawi City. What we’re seeing is the exodus of cars form Marawi City which is on normal days about a hour’s drive away. But this is not a regular day.
We’re here at a checkpoint and where all vehicles entering Iligan City are meticulously inspected by security forces. Passengers get off their buses so their bags are checked one by one. There’s a separate line for private vehicles, too.

Melissa Saavedra: It’s safer if there’s a checkpoint. But it’s also a hassle. They asked us all to get off the bus for additional safety purposes.

Traffic is massive. Our contact in Mindanao State University left Marawi City at 9 in the morning and did not reach Iligan until 4 in the afternoon.

Others who are desperate to flee the clashes, the black outs, and the panic that has enveloped the city opted to walk the long distance.

It is the first day of the implementation of martial law in Mindanao. According to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana this means the military will take over from the police law enforcement operations. There is suport for martial law but there are also concerns that it will trample on the rights of the public.

Ali Usman, MSU professor: It’s good so the civilians are protected, the rest of the population who do not want war. Martial law serve to discipline people who are planning to do terrible things in the city.

At this point, there are a lot of questions about the way martial law will be implemented here in Mindanao. But President Rodrigo Duterte is already threatening to expand the declaration to cover the entire country. If there's anything we learned, he doesn't make empty threats about martial law.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/170860-video-martial-law-marawi-city-evacuation

Humanitarian crisis feared in Marawi

From the Philippine Star (May 25): Humanitarian crisis feared in Marawi

Handout photo from Datu Ali-Asgar Solaiman of the Bangsamoro International Solidarity Conference shows members of the Maute group in an armored car in Marawi City yesterday.

Vehicles packed with evacuees clog the 35-kilometer Marawi-Iligan highway. Those without vehicles are fleeing the city on foot, their children and meager belongings in tow.

 

The Marawi siege is turning into a humanitarian crisis as thousands of residents remain stranded while others flee amid a raging battle between soldiers and the Islamic State (IS)-inspired Maute group.

Traffic is crawling along the highway as vehicles and passengers are subjected to a thorough search before being allowed to enter Iligan, a security official said.

“It’s like Syria. People want to go out of Marawi City because they are afraid to be caught in the crossfire,” said Datu Ali-Asgar Solaiman, founding chairman of non-government organization Bangsamoro International Solidarity Conference that helps evacuees.

 

The Iligan City government enforced a thorough search following reports that some Maute fighters and their sympathizers mingled with evacuees in their bid to escape from Marawi City.

President Duterte on Tuesday night placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial law for 60 days after the battle of government troops and the Maute erupted in Marawi around 2 p.m. that day.

The fighting in Marawi resulted in power outages and the death of at least three people, with 12 others wounded.

The provincial government of Lanao del Norte and the local government of Iligan City said they are ready to receive evacuees from Marawi.

Gov. Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo has instructed the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to prepare for the possible flow of displaced residents from Marawi.

The provincial government has prepared evacuation centers in the towns of Balo-i and Pantar.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/05/25/1703408/humanitarian-crisis-feared-marawi

Thousands flee Philippine city after rebel rampage claimed by Islamic State

From Reuters (May 24): Thousands flee Philippine city after rebel rampage claimed by Islamic State

 

Thousands of civilians fled fighting in the Philippines on Wednesday as troops tried to fend off Islamist militants who took over large parts of a city, capturing Christians, seizing and torching buildings and setting free scores of prisoners.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the rampage via its Amaq news agency, and President Rodrigo Duterte defended his decision to declare martial law on Mindanao, the Muslim-majority island where Marawi City is located, to prevent the spread of extremism in the impoverished region.

The violence flared in Marawi on Tuesday afternoon after a botched raid by security forces on a hideout of the Maute, a militant group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Fighters quickly dispersed, torching buildings and taking over bridges, a hospital, two jails, a church and a college. Duterte said he heard reports they may have beheaded a police chief.

He said Islamic State must be repelled from the Christian-majority Philippines and he would use all means possible to crush the Maute group and the allied Abu Sayyaf, whatever the consequences.

"Anyone now holding a gun, confronting government with violence, my orders are spare no one, let us solve the problems of Mindanao once and for all," said Duterte, who is from the island, after cutting short a visit to Russia and returning to Manila.

"If I think you should die, you will die. If you fight us, you will die. If there's an open defiance, you will die, and if it means many people dying, so be it. That's how it is."

Soldiers and guerrillas set up rival checkpoints and roadblocks on routes in and around Marawi as civilians fled the city of 200,000 in droves, leaving behind what one official described as a ghost town.

Long queues of pickup trucks and jeeps crammed full of people and loaded with belongings crawled along roads into nearby towns as troops searched vehicles for weapons and bombs.

The military said it had rescued 120 people from a school and a hospital and was trying to isolate Maute fighters while awaiting reinforcements that were being blocked by rebels.

Maute snipers and booby traps were hampering operations, which the army said could last three more days.

HUMAN SHIELDS

The Catholic church said militants were using Christians and a priest as human shields and had contacted cardinals with threats to execute hostages unless government troops withdrew.

Thirteen militants and seven security personnel have so far been killed and 33 troops wounded, the army said.

Mujiv Hataman, governor of the Autonomous Region in Mindanao, said militants freed 107 prisoners, among them Maute rebels.

Duterte said martial law would mean checkpoints and arrests and searches without warrant, and it would go on for as long as necessary.

He said he would consider some security measures in the central Visayas region next to Mindanao to facilitate arrests, and could even declare martial law nationwide. He was furious that militants had hoisted the Islamic State flag in Marawi.

"I made a projection, not a prediction, that one of these days the hardest things to deal with would be the arrival of ISIS," Duterte said, referring to Islamic State.

"The government must put an end to this. I cannot gamble with ISIS because they are everywhere."

Related Coverage
Little-known Maute militants becoming formidable force in Philippines

Duterte said he would not tolerate abuses of power by security forces under martial law, but critics said the military rule in all of Mindanao, an island the size of South Korea with a population of 22 million, was an overreaction.

The National Union of Peoples' Lawyers, a group of human rights attorneys, called it "a sledgehammer, knee-jerk reaction" that would "open the flood gates for unbridled human rights violations".

The military has not explained how the raid on an apartment hideout went so badly wrong. The operation was aimed at capturing Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group notorious for piracy, banditry and for kidnapping and decapitating Westerners.

The Maute and Abu Sayyaf have proved fierce opponents for the military.

The armed forces said they were on top of the situation but residents who fled told a different story.

"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 told Reuters in Pantar town, about 16 km (10 miles) away.

Bishops and cardinals urged Islamic leaders to persuade militants to free innocent hostages.

"We beg every Filipino to pray fervently," said Father Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-militants-idUSKBN18K08M

‘Truth first casualty in Marawi siege’

From the Philippine Star (May 25): ‘Truth first casualty in Marawi siege’   

“Except for the half truths, the media is on the receiving end of all the lies on what really is happening in Marawi City,” a senior military reporter said, referring to the statement released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). AP/Wong Maye-E, File


If there is a first casualty in the ongoing fighting between government forces and the Islamic State (IS)-inspired Maute group, it is the truth.
 

“Except for the half truths, the media is on the receiving end of all the lies on what really is happening in Marawi City,” a senior military reporter said, referring to the statement released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The AFP report said only 15 gunmen of the Maute group were involved in the fighting.

However, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that around a hundred Maute gunmen attacked Marawi City.

The fighting in Marawi erupted on Tuesday afternoon after security forces raided a house where they believed a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf was hiding.

“We are expecting the arrest of Isnilon Hapilon. They (troops) didn’t know that he was backed up by more or less 100 armed fighters, but we will be able to contain them as we go along, by tomorrow or the next two days,” Lorenzana told a midnight press briefing in Moscow.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command spokesperson, Capt. Joan Petinglay, said only 15 Maute gunmen headed by Hapilon were in the city.

Petinglay also described as disinformation reports that the Maute group torched a school and the city jail and entered the city’s Amai Pakpak Medical Center.

 

But the National Risk Disaster Management Council has confirmed the reported takeover by the Maute group of the hospital, which is located near Marawi City Hall.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/05/25/1703422/truth-first-casualty-marawi-siege

Westmincom assures respect of human rights under martial law

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): Westmincom assures respect of human rights under martial law

Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr.,commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), on Wednesday assured the public that the military will respect human rights in the implementation of martial law.

“We are, however, assuring the public that we will use the current mandate to boost our campaign against terrorism. And we will enforce our mandate in accordance with the law and with respect to human rights and the International Humanitarian Law,” Galvez said in a statement.

Galvez clarified that they have yet to receive “a written guidance as to how the declaration will translate to our operations on the ground, especially here at Western Mindanao, where all threat groups are present.”

President Rodrigo Duterte placed Mindanao under martial law for 60 days, hours after the Maute group laid siege in Marawi City Tuesday afternoon.

Galvez quoted part of Section 18, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, which provides: “A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over civilians where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. The suspension of the privilege of the writ shall apply only to persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in or directly connected with invasion."

Galvez also assured the Moro revolutionary fronts— Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) — of the primacy of the peace process in the implementation of the martial rule in Mindanao.

“To our MNLF and MILF brothers, please be reminded that the declaration is done to suppress the rebellion brought about by the Maute group in Marawi [City] and the other threat groups related to them, such as the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) and the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Figthers),” he said.

“There is no need to worry about the current situation as our soldiers will be reminded to uphold and respect the ongoing peace process between the GPH and the peace-loving MILF and MNLF,” he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990426

Tension in Marawi City subsides, says mayor

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): Tension in Marawi City subsides, says mayor

Tension in Marawi City brought by the Maute terror group dwindled Wednesday morning, City Mayor Majul Gandamra said.

The mayor, however, could not say if all the members of the Maute group, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria I(IISIS), have left his city.

Gandamra said the tension in the city is still there but gunshots have subsided.

“The situation as of 8 a.m. has been under control. Tension is down but I cannot say that the members of the Maute group and ISIS are gone. I was told some of them left the city toward the towns surrounding the city,” he said in a radio interview.

The mayor said that residents are leaving the locality towards Iligan City, causing traffic jam along the lone road to Saguiaran town in Lanao del Sur, the next town from Marawi City en route to Iligan.

Gandamra said he and personnel from the Marawi City police are holed up at the city hall. “We will not allow them to come in,” he said.

The mayor said they are still validating the number of civilian fatalities.

In Maguindanao, all military personnel are on alert for the possible spillover of the hostilities, Major General Arnel dela Vega, 6th Infantry Division (ID) commander, said Wednesday.

“You have nothing to fear, the government is on top of the situation," Dela Vega said.

He said elements of the 6th ID based in Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur have put up more checkpoints along the Marawi-Cotabato highway to stop the spillover of the Marawi City incident.

He added that checkpoints have also been put up along major highways in Maguindanao, where the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which is allied with the Maute group, operates.

He said that armored personnel carriers were also deployed in strategic areas in Maguindanao, including Cotabato City.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990427

Troops regain 'full control' of Marawi City — Westmincom

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): Troops regain 'full control' of Marawi City — Westmincom

The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) announced Wednesday that the government is now in "full control" of the situation in Marawi City, which was attacked by the Maute terror group yesterday.

“As to the Marawi incident, the government is in control of the situation. (We are) fully aware that the Maute and similar groups have the capability, though limited, to disturb the peace. (They) have shown no hesitation in causing havoc, taking innocent lives and destroying property as manifested yesterday in Marawi City,” said Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Westmincom chief.

Galvez said they launched an operation against the members of local terrorist group Maute because of information that Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Isnilon Hapilon was with them.

“We tried to contain the fighting in specific areas, but the militants attempted to conduct diversionary tactics in other areas of the city in order to ease off the pressure in the target area where IH (Isnilon Hailon) is believed to be hiding,” he said.

“Containing these terrorists could have been easier if the area is not a built-up community. As our troops have to inch closer to the enemy, they also need to make sure that the civilians are safe,” he said.

“Our soldiers and policemen are complementing each other’s efforts in order to contain and address the attacks conducted by the militants in some areas of Marawi,” he added.

Galvez confirmed that there were casualties, but refused to give details. Initial reports said three government troops were killed and several others wounded in the clashes with the Maute group.

“Yes, we have already incurred casualties from among our forces due to the skirmishes yesterday. We have also received reports of the death of some Maute members, and the death of some civilian, which we are still validating right now,” he said.

Galvez advised residents of Marawi to stay indoors and to be vigilant, and to inform authorities of suspicious individuals.

He also asked the public to refrain from posting unverified information on social media as well as the location of government troops so as not to endanger their lives.

“While it is true that we have enough forces, we still need the full support of the people in Marawi in this fight against terrorism,” he said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990433

Muslim group fears martial law 'to deepen conflict in Marawi City'

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): Muslim group fears martial law 'to deepen conflict in Marawi City'

The declaration of martial law will only "exacerbate" the firefight between government troops and members of the Maute terror group in Marawi City, said an official of a Muslim organization on Wednesday, even as the military declared the situation there already "under control."

President Rodrigo Duterte, who decided to cut short his official visit to the Russian Federation, made the pronouncement Tuesday evening after clashes erupted following a raid on a house where Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon was believed to be hiding in Marawi City.

Jerome Aba, national chairperson of Suara Bangsamoro, said the declaration of martial law will "only justify urban militarization and intensified military operations in Marawi".

“We fear for the lives of the civilians who might get caught in the crossfire. We fear for the effects of war on the civilian population,” he said.

Aba said that the Duterte administration should learn from what happened during the siege in Zamboanga City in 2013 where displacement, death, hunger and poverty continue to affect the civilians even until today.

The declaration of martial rule, Aba said, "will also lessen the possibility of resolving the issue through diplomatic and non-militaristic means."

“[Suara Bangsamoro] believes that the Moro leaders should pursue conversations with the Maute group and come up with resolutions on how to resolve the ongoing crisis,” he added.

As of Wednesday morning, the military reported that a police officer and two soldiers were killed and 12 others wounded on the government side, while the number of Abu Sayyaf and Maute fighters who were killed has yet to be determined.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990573

Military, police secure Northern Mindanao

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): Military, police secure Northern Mindanao

Military and police forces have secured the boundaries in Northern Mindanao to prevent the possible escalation of hostilities in Marawi City to its neighboring areas, a top military official said Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal, Jr., commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (ID), said that the military and the regional police command in Northern Mindanao have beefed up security in the borders of Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon provinces.

The police and the military have also reinforced the checkpoints in the boundaries of Luga-it in Misamis Oriental and Iligan City in Lanao Del Norte, Madrigal said.

He said that while the 4ID has enough troops, the "sending of reinforcement to Marawi City is not necessary at the moment."

Madrigal also said that the military is still waiting for the implementing guidelines after President Rodrigo Duterte, who was in Russia, declared martial law in the entire island of Mindanao Tuesday night, hours after government troops and members of the Maute terror group clashed in Marawi City.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990576

Lanao Norte ready to house fleeing Marawi residents

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): Lanao Norte ready to house fleeing Marawi residents

The provincial government of Lanao del Norte said on Wednesday it is ready to receive evacuees following the violence in Marawi City Tuesday.

In a telephone interview, Lyndon Calica, Lanao del Norte information officer, said Gov. Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo has instructed the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to prepare for the influx of displaced residents from Marawi.

“The governor has ordered the mobilization of the quick response team in case evacuees will arrive from Marawi,” Calica said.

He said the provincial government has readied evacuation centers in the towns of Balo-i and Pantar, towns on the borders of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.

Calica said that security forces have also been augmented, especially in the two provinces’ boundaries in case the hostilities between government troopers and the Maute terror group will spillover to Lanao del Norte.

The local government of Iligan City, where most of the fleeing Marawi residents sought temporary shelter, has also set up two evacuation sites for the evacuees.

Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz said Wednesday afternoon that the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) has identified the Iligan City National School of Fisheries in Barangay Buru-un and the Iligan City National High School in Barangay Mahayahay as evacuation centers.

“The CDRRMO has already been advised to prepare food packs and other basic necessities for the evacuees,” Vera Cruz said.

As of press time, however, most of the evacuees are staying with their relatives or in their second homes in Iligan, he said.

“What we are looking at are those poor who have nowhere to go. The evacuation center is open for them,” Vera Cruz, a priest who sought a leave to run for Vice Mayor of Iligan City in 2016, said.

Senior Superintendent Leony Roy Ga, Iligan City police chief, said that more police personnel have been deployed to conduct checkpoints to prevent the terror group from entering the city.

Ga said they have received intelligence reports that the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf are also targeting Iligan.

Authorities could not yet give the exact number of civilians fleeing Marawi but reports said it has now gone by the thousands, most of them Christians who worked and reside in Marawi City.

According to reports, the evacuees were on board private and public vehicles taking with them whatever belongings they could bring.

An evacuee told reporters that they could see members of the Maute Group just outside their window as gunfire crackled in the distance.

The flow of evacuees had caused traffic congestion along the national highway in Barangay Suarez in Iligan, as policemen and soldiers manning the checkpoint there had to stop every vehicle coming from Marawi to check the passengers and their cargoes.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990600

ARMM ready to distribute 20,000 food packs for Marawi attack victims

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): ARMM ready to distribute 20,000 food packs for Marawi attack victims

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – Humanitarian Emergency Assistance Action and Response Team (ARMM - HEART) is on standby to distribute some 20,000 food packs to displaced families in Marawi City brought about by an attack staged since Tuesday by the Maute Group.

Myrna Jocelyn Henry, ARMM – HEART media relations officer, said the relief goods are currently prepositioned in Malabang, Lanao del Sur, awaiting the go-signal of ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman for them to enter the Marawi area with the clearance from military authorities.

Malabang town is only some 45 minutes away from Marawi City, which is also in Lanao del Sur.

“We are ready,” Henry said, citing that ARMM – HEART personnel have initially entered Marawi on Wednesday to get first – hand information and assess the situation of evacuees on the ground.

Initially, she said massive evacuations were monitored in the villages of Basak Malutlut, Caloocan, Banggolo and Abubakar, all situated in Marawi’s first district.

Henry stressed that another 4,000 relief packs, together with 10,000 bottled waters, are still being readied by ARMM – HEART for dispatch to Marawi City.

She said the Regional Governor’s Office listed some 800 individuals seeking refuge at the Lanao del Sur provincial capitol in Marawi.

Hataman, in a hastily called press conference on Wednesday following a Regional Peace and Order Council meeting, said 50 percent of Marawi City residents have so far evacuated and have sought refuge in the nearby cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

As of the 2015 census, Marawi has a total population of 201,785 individuals.

“Unfortunately, potshots from snipers could still be heard across the city,” Hataman said.

The governor confirmed the abduction of eight persons, which include Catholic priest Chito Suganob.

Hataman also said the attackers also freed a total of 107 inmates – 68 from the provincial jail and another 39 from the city jail.

“Amid these incidents, I believe that the national government, including the ARMM, is on top of the situation as all its branches, including the military and police, are functioning well in the performance of their jobs,” Hataman said.

The governor said the groups behind the Marawi siege are the Maute Group and the Abu Sayyaf Group that have formed an alliance under the Dawla Islamiyah, which is controlled by Isnilon Hapilon, the so-called emir of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the Philippines. Hapilon is a senior Abu Sayyaf leader.

  http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990612

3 troops killed, 12 hurt in ongoing ops in Marawi City

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): 3 troops killed, 12 hurt in ongoing ops in Marawi City

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed that two soldiers and a police officer were killed and another 12 were wounded as government forces strives to neutralize Maute Group members in Marawi City, Lanao Del Sur.

This was bared by AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo during a briefing Wednesday.

"(As of this time) there are two soldiers killed along with a police officer along with 12 others wounded," he said in Filipino.

Arevalo added that they still have no information on whether Maute Group members have casualties in the series of gunbattles with government security forces in Marawi City.

Likewise, validation efforts are still ongoing to determine on the veracity of reports that the terrorists took several civilian hostages including a priest.

The clash between Maute Group members started 2 p.m. Tuesday at Barangay Basak, Malutlut when government security forces learned of the presence of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who allied with the Maute Group, and his cohorts.

Hapilon was reported severely wounded in the series of military operations in Lanao Del Sur early this January.

The former is reportedly the representative of the ISIS terror group in the Philippines.

This prompted military and police units to conduct a law enforcement operation but they were fired on first by the bandits,

"The security forces were fired upon constraining them to retaliate," Arevalo stressed.

Initial reports said that at least one soldier was killed and eight others were wounded in this exchange.

"Follow up operations are still ongoing and we cannot reveal other details so as not to compromise operational security. Follow on forces are underway as we speak to further ensure that we will keep the grip of the situation," the AFP official added.

Arevalo also urged the public to refrain from posting in social media information that would exacerbate the situation especially photos and videos on the movements of troops and on terrorist propaganda circulating through social media.

"We will continue to provide updates as often as possible with due regard to the security of our operating forces and the conduct of the operations itself," he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990430

PNP: Marawi City attackers not ISIS members

From the Philippine News Agency (May 24): PNP: Marawi City attackers not ISIS members

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said that the terrorists who are now sowing fear in Marawi City are not members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In a press conference in Camp Crame, Quezon City, PNP Public Information Office (PIO) chief and spokesman Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos said that the terrorists being hunted down by government forces in Marawi City are members of the local Maute terror group.

He stressed that while the Maute terror group has declared support for ISIS, however, they can only be considered as ISIS sympathizers and not actual members.

At the same time, the PNP official appealed to the public to be careful of what they post or share in social media to avoid spreading fear and panic.

Carlos pointed out that posts that tend to create the impression that the situation in Marawi City is worse than what it actually is, could be exploited by terrorists for their own propaganda.

Likewise, he also denied that the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are downplaying the situation in Marawi City.

Carlos expounded that authorities are just making sure that the information they provide the public is verified and true.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990448