Tag Archives: Marawi City

Philippine leader to expedite bill for self-rule in Muslim region

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (C) with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairperson Al Haj Murad Ebrahim (2nd from L), Jesus Dureza, Secretary of Peace Process, Ghazali Jaafar (2nd from R), MILF vice-chairman and Mohagher Iqbal, MILF peace panel chairman, hold a draft law of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) during a ceremony at the Malacanang presidential palace in metro Manila, Philippines July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Martin Petty

MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed on Monday to fast-track new legislation for autonomy in the country’s most volatile region, advancing a protracted process to end decades of rebellion and thwart rising Islamist militancy.

The Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) submitted to Duterte on Monday is the culmination of a rocky 20-year peace process between the government of the predominantly Christian Philippines and the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

It aims to turn predominantly Muslim parts of the southern island of Mindanao into an autonomous region with its own executive, legislature and fiscal powers.

“May I say to you my brothers … I will support and hasten this instrument as it goes to the legislature,” Duterte said in a ceremony for the handover of the bill, drawing loud applause.

“There will be no objections of the provisions of all that is consistent with the constitution and aspirations of the Moro people.”

Passage of the bill would be a major achievement for Duterte, who was a mayor in a Mindanao city for 22 years and has made peace deals with separatists and Marxist rebels a priority for his year-old government.

The bill’s submission comes at a critical time for the Philippines, as fears grow that militants allied with Islamic State have exploited disillusionment over the failure of the previous Congress to pass the law, and have used it to recruit fighters and further a radical agenda.

Rebels inspired by Islamic State have occupied the commercial heart of Marawi City, on Mindanao, through seven weeks of air strikes and battles with government troops that have killed more than 500 people and displaced 260,000, marking the country’s biggest security crisis in years.

DANGEROUS TIMES

“We live in very dangerous times… we watch with utter disgust of the destruction that violent extremism has inflicted in the city of Marawi,” MILF chairman Al Haj Ebrahim Murad said.

“These misguided people have filled the vacuum created by our failure to enact the basic law and (they) feed into the frustration of our people.”

The law, details of which were not immediately available, calls for the creation of a self-administered territory within what the Philippines called Bangsamoro, meaning “Moro nation”, referring to the southern Muslims that Spanish colonialists called “Moros”.

The bill, agreed by a panel of representatives from government, the MILF and religious groups, prescribes an elected legislative assembly, a chief minister, a cabinet, with an agreement to share natural resource revenues, stacked largely in favor of the new Bangsamoro government.

In a recent interview with Reuters in Cotabato City, Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF’s top peace negotiator, said the hope was for Congress to pass the law and a transition period to start in 2019, with elections in 2022 for an 80-seat assembly.

Iqbal said he feared the Marawi siege could complicate the passage of the law if there was a perception that the MILF and the radical Maute group fighting in Marawi were associated with each other because both hail from the same region.

“Right now we don’t really know the thinking of the people,” he said.

Exclusive: Philippines’ Duterte proposed deal to end city siege, then backed out

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he delivers a speech during the 70th Philippine Air Force (PAF) anniversary at Clark Air Base in Angeles city north of Manila, Pampanga province, Philippines July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Martin Petty

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was preparing to make a deal with Islamic State-inspired militants in the days after they laid siege to a southern city, but aborted the plan without explanation, an intermediary involved in the process said.

Agakhan Sharief, a prominent Muslim leader, told Reuters that after a band of Islamist fighters overran parts of Marawi City on May 23 and took hundreds of people hostage, he was approached by a senior Duterte aide to use his connections with the Maute militant group’s leaders to start back-channel talks.

Two other Marawi sources familiar with the matter confirmed the president had worked behind the scenes to hold talks with the Maute brothers, Omarkhayam and Abdullah.

However, the process was halted when Duterte in a May 31 speech declared he “will not talk to terrorists”.

It was not immediately clear what prompted Duterte’s about-face.

“The problem with our president, his mind is changing always,” said Sharief, a cleric who has had roles in various peace agreements on the long-restive southern island of Mindanao. “He announced he will no longer talk to terrorists and that made our negotiations cut.”

Duterte’s top peace adviser and his spokesman did not respond to separate requests for comment.

Despite his tough rhetoric and frequent promises to wipe out militants, Duterte has a reputation as a peace-broker, having dealt with separatist and Marxist rebellions during his 22 years as mayor of Davao City in Mindanao, an island of 22 million with a long history of unrest.

DUTERTE’S BIGGEST CRISIS

The battle for control of Marawi has been the biggest crisis of Duterte’s year-old presidency.

Fighters from the Maute group and others loyal to Islamic State have been holed up in the commercial district of the town through more than 40 days of air strikes, artillery bombardments and fierce street clashes with troops.

More than 400 people have been killed, including 337 militants, 85 members of the security forces, and 44 civilians. Some 260,000 residents have been displaced by a siege that has fanned regional fears that Islamic State is trying to establish a stronghold in Southeast Asia.

Marawi Mayor Majul Usman Gandamra confirmed that back-channel talks did start but said he was not privy to details.

He told Reuters the process failed because the rebels did not show good faith or reduce the intensity of attacks on government forces after Duterte offered them an olive branch.

“There was a window of opportunity,” he said. “But there was no show of sincerity.”

REBELS ‘CONVINCED’

Sharief, known locally as “Bin Laden” due to his resemblance to the late al Qaeda leader, would not reveal the identity of Duterte’s aide, whom he said was confidentially assigned to set up a meeting with the Maute clan.

He said the aide agreed that Sharief would accompany the Maute brothers’ influential mother, Farhana, by helicopter to meet Duterte in nearby Cagayan De Oro or Davao City.

Sharief said her sons who requested she represent them in talks with Duterte.

“He (Duterte’s aide) prepared everything that I needed. I told him that I need a chopper to get the mother of the Maute brothers to bring her to the president. He prepared that.”

“I called the Maute brothers and their mother … I told them, I convinced them.”

Sharief said the president was prepared to offer the Maute clan implementation of Sharia law in their hometown, Butig, if he achieves his goal of establishing a federal system in the Philippines.

The talks with the Maute group did not go ahead and the mother was arrested on June 9 elsewhere in the same province as Marawi. The Maute brothers’ father, Cayamora Maute, was apprehended three days earlier in Davao City.

The cleric said that the rebels would have taken Duterte’s deal to end the siege.

“They agreed, they supported this,” said Sharief, who last met with Abdullah Maute on June 25, when he led a group of emissaries into the heart of Marawi to free some hostages during the Eid al-Fitr Islamic holiday.

Sharief said he was against the radical ideology of Islamic State but reluctant to speak out against the Maute clan because he still hoped he could convince them to end the siege.

“I am a peacemaker,” he said. “I cannot negotiate anymore if I talk against them.”

(For a graphic on the battle for Marawi, click http://tmsnrt.rs/2sqmHDf)

(Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato in MANILA; Editing by John Chalmers and Bill Tarrant)

Philippine top court upholds martial law in south as fighting drags on

Philippines army soldiers store seized combat weapons in bags after a news conference, as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group in Marawi city, Philippines July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

By Manuel Mogato and Martin Petty

MANILA/MARAWI, Philippines (Reuters) – The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld as constitutional President Rodrigo Duterte’s imposition of 60 days of military rule on a southern island, a ruling that would reinforce unity in the fight against militancy, his spokesman said.

Duterte placed the southern island of Mindanao under military rule on May 23, hours after hundreds of pro-Islamic State militants seized control of the predominantly Muslim town of Marawi, which is on the island.

Eleven members of the 15-member court bench ruled the president’s order valid. Three agreed with it but wanted to limit the area of martial law and one judge opposed it, said court spokesman Theodore Te. He did not elaborate.

Six weeks after the imposition of martial law on the island, government forces are still battling the rebels in the town.

Hundreds of people have been killed and alarm has spread across the region about the prospects of Islamic State establishing a Southeast Asian foothold in the troubled south of the predominately Christian Philippines.

“With the Supreme Court decision, the whole government now stands together as one against a common enemy,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he was hopeful the battle with the militants of the previously little-known Maute group would be over before the 60-day period of martial law ends, as the Philippines’ was getting more help from allies.

Two Australian P-3C Orion surveillance planes, manned by joint Australian and Philippine crews, have started flying over Marawi, to pinpoint the locations of the militants, Lorenzana said.

The aircraft will be in the Philippines for two weeks.

On Tuesday morning, clouds of smoke hung over the lakeside town as troops fired on militant positions with artillery and machine guns from helicopters.

Sporadic explosions were heard later in the day.

The army said it had captured another militant stronghold, a century-old college set up by Americans which the rebel leaders, brothers from the Maute family, had attended.

An army spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera, said troops had also recovered the body of a militant who was believed to be from Singapore, bringing to 11 the number of foreign fighters killed in the battle.

It was not clear why authorities believed the fighter was from Singapore. Herrera only said they had information.

More than 400 people, including 337 militants and 85 members of the security forces, have been killed in the fighting in Marawi. Forty-four civilians had also been killed, either in crossfire or executed by the militants, the military said.

(Reporting by Martin Petty; Writing by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Trump says he is sending federal help to fight Chicago crime

FILE PHOTO - Chicago police officer investigate a crime scene of a gunshot victim in Chicago, Illinois, United States, July 5, 2015. REUTERS/Jim Young

By Timothy Mclaughlin and Doina Chiacu

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Friday he was sending federal help to fight crime in Chicago that has reached “epidemic” proportions.

The government is sending federal agents to Chicago and plans to prosecute firearms cases aggressively, Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Fox News when asked about Trump’s statement about the plan in an early-morning Twitter post.

“Crime and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in Federal help. 1714 shootings in Chicago this year!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president has regularly singled out Chicago’s violent crime problem and in January decried the high crime rate in the third-most populous U.S. city as “carnage.”

In 2016, the number of murders in Chicago exceeded 760, a jump of nearly 60 percent, and was more than New York and Los Angeles combined. There were more than 4,300 shooting victims in the city last year, according to police.

The number of murders, shootings and shooting victims have all decreased slightly this year in the city of 2.7 million. There have been 320 murders, down from 322 over the same period last year. There have been 1,703 shooting victims, down from 1,935, according to police figures.

Sessions said the anti-crime policies in Chicago have not worked and police “have been demoralized in many ways.”

The federal assistance will come in the form of the Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force, a collaboration between the police and the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The group, including police officers, federal agents and intelligence analysts, will work to impede the flow of illegal guns throughout Chicago and target repeat gun offenders.

“The Trump Administration will not let the bloodshed go on; we cannot accept these levels of violence,” Sessions said in a statement on Friday afternoon. The group became operational on June 1, Sessions said.

It will “significantly help our police officers stem the flow of illegal guns and create a culture of accountability” for the gangs that drive violence in the city, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement.

On Monday, the Chicago police announced that the ATF’s mobile ballistics lab had arrived in the city to help process shooting scenes.

“Six months ago we made it clear that we would welcome additional federal support, and six months later we appreciate the 20 new ATF agents that are now arriving,” Adam Collins, a spokesman for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, said.

“But the progress CPD (Chicago Police Department) has made this year has happened without any of the new resources from the federal government we requested.”

Chicago is also in the midst of reforming its police department after a federal investigation found officers routinely violated the civil rights of people, citing excessive force and racially discriminatory conduct.

Joseph Ferguson, the city’s inspector general, called on Chicago officials to agree to a consent decree to oversee changes to the department at a committee meeting on Tuesday – splitting with the mayor, who has said a court-enforced settlement is not necessary for reform.

In response to questions about Ferguson’s comments, Emanuel told reporters on Wednesday that the Justice Department has “walked away” from doing consent decrees, and so the city has sought a different strategy.

“There are multiple roads that allow you to make sure you make the changes and reform,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Julia Jacobs in Chicago; Editing by JS Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)

Hostages in Philippines siege forced to fight, loot, become sex slaves: army

An explosion is seen after a Philippines army aircraft released a bomb during an airstrike as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group in Marawi city June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

By Kanupriya Kapoor

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Civilians held hostage by Islamist militants occupying a southern Philippine city have been forced by their captors to loot homes, take up arms against government troops and serve as sex slaves for rebel fighters, the army said on Tuesday.Citing accounts of seven residents of Marawi City who either escaped or were rescued, the military said some hostages were forced to convert to Islam, carry wounded fighters to mosques, and marry militants of the Maute group loyal to Islamic State.

“So they are being forced to be sex slaves, forced to destroy the dignity of these women,” military spokesman Jo-Ar Herrera told a news conference.

“So this is what is happening inside, this is very evident … these are evil personalities.”

Their accounts, which could not be immediately verified, are the latest harrowing stories to come out of a conflict zone that the military has been unable to penetrate for five weeks, as well-armed and organized rebels fight off soldiers with sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Some escapees say bodies of residents have been left in the streets, some for weeks, and civilians are distressed by government air strikes and artillery bombardments that have reduced parts of Marawi to rubble.

The protracted seizure has worried the region about the extent the Islamic State’s agenda may have gained traction in the southern Philippines, which is more used to banditry, piracy and separatism than radical Islam.

The rebels’ combat capability, access to heavy weapons and use of foreign fighters has raised fears in the mainly Catholic country that the Marawi battle could just be the start of a wider campaign, and be presented by Maute as a triumph to aid their recruitment efforts.

Heavy clashes broke out on Tuesday as the battle entered its sixth week, with intense bombings by planes on a shrinking rebel zone.

NO NEGOTIATIONS

The government ruled out negotiations after reports that Abdullah Maute, one of two brothers who formed the militant group carrying their name, wanted to trade a Catholic priest hostage for his parents arrested earlier this month.

The military said on Saturday Abdullah Maute had fled.

Taking advantage of a short truce to mark the Eid al-Fitr Islamic holiday, eight Muslim leaders met briefly on Sunday with Maute. The Philippine Daily Inquirer said he had asked for his father, Cayamora Maute, and influential businesswoman mother, Farhana Maute, to be freed, in a swap for Father Teresito “Chito” Soganub.

But presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said deals with militants were against government policy, and anyone trying to bargain had no authority to do so.

“The local religious leader-led talks with terrorists last Sunday was one not sanctioned,” Abella told reporters.

“Any demands made inside, therefore, hold no basis. Let us remind the public, the gravity of the terrorists and their supporters’ offences is immense.”

The military’s public relations machine has been insisting that the rebel leadership was crumbling, saying top commanders had escaped or were killed in action, and the group was fraught with infighting, even executing their own men for wanting to surrender.

Military officers, however, accept they lack solid proof of such developments and were working to verify intelligence reports.

The army said there were reported sightings of the departure from the battle of Isnilon Hapilon, Islamic State’s anointed Southeast Asian “emir”, which Abella said showed he was not committed to his cause.

“It would be a clear sign of his cowardice,” Abella said of Hapilon.

“It may only be a matter of time before they disintegrate.”

Fighting has raged in the town since an operation to arrest Hapilon went wrong on May 23, leading to the government losing not just Hapilon, but control of Marawi.

Official figures show 70 servicemen, 27 civilians and 290 militants have since been killed and 246,000 people displaced.

(Additional reporting by Martin Petty and Karen Lema in MANILA; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Australia to send spy planes to help Philippines fight militants

FILE PHOTO - A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Orion aircraft (back) prepares to take off from RAAF Base Pearce near Perth April 6, 2014. REUTERS/Richard Polden

By Manuel Mogato and Tom Westbrook

MARAWI CITY/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia agreed on Friday to send two surveillance planes to help the Philippines tackle Islamist rebels, as jets and artillery pounded militant positions in a southern town held for more than a month by Islamic State loyalists.

The Philippines accepted the offer of two AP-3C Orion aircraft for reconnaissance to pinpoint locations of Maute group fighters holed up for a fifth week in Marawi, a town the rebels have declared as their own Islamic territory.

“The regional threat from terrorism, in particular from Daesh and foreign fighters, is a direct threat to Australia and our interests,” Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne said in a statement, referring to Islamic State by an Arabic acronym.

Australia’s help comes as fears grow that the Maute and its affiliates have much stronger designs on parts of the southern Philippines than previously imagined, evidenced by their preparations and combat capability during the weeks of fighting.

The threat is heightened by losses suffered by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and intelligence reports that it is building alliances and seeking new pastures from which to project its agenda.

Gilbert Gapay, an Philippine military spokesman, said the surveillance planes would help tackle extremism across Mindanao, an island of 22 million people, where separatists, pirates and kidnap gangs have thrived for decades.

He said the battle for Marawi was not a failure because the military had learned a lot and was stopping Islamic State from taking root.

“This gives us a picture of the expanse of their network,” Gapay told reporters.

“They won’t thrive anymore in our country.”

But security experts say the battle has exposed intelligence and operational failures by the Philippines and its limited cooperation with neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia to stop extremism from spreading.

The three countries on Thursday agreed on joint measures to pool information and try to stem recruitment, movement and financing of fighters. The Philippines says it knows of 40 foreign operatives in the country.

‘LAST STAND’

Australia’s support follows that of Philippine defense treaty ally the United States, which has provided technical help through military surveillance and communications experts stationed in Zamboanga city on Mindanao.

The Philippines has welcomed foreign support amid operations that have had mixed results, with 67 security forces killed as rebels withstand a fifth week of ground assaults and air strikes, one of which saw 10 government troops killed on June 1 when a bomb missed its target.

Philippine troops, more adept at fighting in jungles and mountains, have found unfamiliar territory in the urban warfare that has devastated much of Marawi and displaced nearly 250,000 people.

Some 300 civilians were believed to be either trapped or being used as human shields, according to the army. Civilians involved in relief efforts believe the number could be higher.

Planes dropped more bombs early on Friday and the army tried to flush out the estimated 90-100 rebels with artillery and heavy gunfire. Efforts were being slowed by roadside bombs, snipers and booby-trapped vehicles and gas tanks.

“This is already their last stand and they are getting desperate,” Jo-Ar Herrera, a military spokesman, told reporters.

“Our mission is to neutralize them so that they will no longer threaten other parts of the Philippines.”

Residents who fled militant-held areas say the black-clad Maute militia are in the fight for the long haul and are trying to cement their presence as an arm of Islamic State.

“They patrol the streets on foot and on vehicles, which they spray with black paint and have mounted big guns,” said Norodin Garangan, 44, who escaped on Wednesday.

“I know there are still people in our area but they’re afraid to go out.”

(Additional reporting by Enrico dela Cruz in MANILA; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)

SE Asian countries commit to cohesive approach to thwart militants

Damaged buildings and houses are seen as government forces continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over large parts of the Marawi City, Philippines June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Neil Jerome Morales and Manuel Mogato

MANILA/MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia agreed on Thursday to pool intelligence and tackle militant financing as fears grow that protracted fighting in a southern Philippine town could be the prelude to an Islamic State infiltration of the region.

Foreign ministers and defense officials of the three neighboring countries agreed to work together to share information, track communications and crack down on the flow of arms, fighters and money, amid what experts says is the biggest security threat facing Southeast Asia in decades.

Despite signs that the rebels battling government forces in Marawi City were on the back foot, authorities are worried that the fighting – now in its fifth week – might be the beginning of a wave of violence as the ultra-radical Islamic State group tries to establish a foothold.

Militants holed up in Marawi were cornered and their firepower was flagging, the military said on Thursday, estimating the number of remaining fighters at just over 100, and all within a 1 square kilometer area.

Malaysia Foreign Minister Anifah Aman told the meeting the that extremism needed an immediate response, and constant engagement between the three countries that must be a “cohesive unit”.

“This is an urgent task that we need to undertake as clearly evidenced through the current situation in Marawi,” he said.

“This means our enforcement agencies must constantly engage with one another, not only in intelligence sharing but new active and innovative measures.”

Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have launched joint patrols to control militant movements across their archipelagic region.

But experts point to how they have previously failed to work together to prevent festering militancy and banditry from worsening, plagued as they are by mistrust, dormant territorial disputes and limited capabilities.

The Philippines in particular is widely seen as the weaker link.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Thursday’s meeting aimed to revisit existing security programs between the three and draw up a plan to strengthen and implement them.

Government soldiers take a break while guarding a city hall compound, as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over parts of Marawi City, Philippines June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Government soldiers take a break while guarding a city hall compound, as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over parts of Marawi City, Philippines June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

‘LOOKING FOR BASES’

His country was now a clear target for extremists, he said, and the region only needed to look at how quickly Islamic State, or ISIS, managed to recruit fighters and carve out strongholds in Iraq and Syria

“These jihadists will be looking for land bases or areas outside Iraq and Syria,” Cayetano told reporters.

“Everyone has their vulnerability, no one is perfect.

“If other countries have nationals in Marawi and Mindanao and are extremists, they are as much a threat to their home country as here.”

A Philippine officer, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Tampus, said troops were blocking escape routes out of Marawi and rebels were hemmed-in and using civilians dressed in black as human shields.

“Our forces are coming from the east and the north and we are blocking the three bridges,” he said.

Tampus said the militant snipers were firing from “strategic nests” in schools and mosques, and their bombs were hampering his troops’ operations.

Malaysia is worried that militants could flee to its eastern state of Sabah.

Malaysia has a wanted list that includes two militants who spearheaded the attempt to capture Marawi.

They are a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, Isnilon Hapilon, who was proclaimed by Islamic State last year as its “emir” of Southeast Asia, and Abdullah Maute, whose followers accounted for a large number of the estimated 400-500 fighters who overran parts of Marawi, killing Christians and taking dozens of civilians hostage.

According to official estimates, 369 people have been killed, three-quarters of them militants. The number of security forces and civilians killed stood at 67 and 26, respectively.

Residents who want to evacuate from their homes gather while waiting for a vehicle after Islamist militants, who had holed up in a primary school, retreated after a gunbattle with troops but were holding some civilians hostage, in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato, Philippines June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Marconi Navales

Residents who want to evacuate from their homes gather while waiting for a vehicle after Islamist militants, who had holed up in a primary school, retreated after a gunbattle with troops but were holding some civilians hostage, in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato, Philippines June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Marconi Navales

(Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in MARAWI, Karen Lema in MANILA, Rozanna Latiff in KUALA LUMPUR; Writing by John Chalmers and Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Philippines says Islamist fighters trapped in corner of besieged town

Billowing smoke is seen as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over parts of Marawi City, Philippines June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Manuel Mogato and Simon Lewis

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Islamist militants holed up in a southern Philippines town have been cornered and their firepower is flagging, the military said on Thursday, as the five-week battle for control of Marawi City raged on.

Despite signs that the insurgents are now on the back foot, Southeast Asian governments are worried that the siege could be just the prelude to further violence as the ultra-radical Islamic State group tries to establish a foothold in their region.

Jolted by the May 23 attack on Marawi, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have launched joint patrols to control the movement of militants across their archipelagic region and their foreign ministers gathered in Manila on Thursday for talks.

Malaysia is worried that militants who are flushed out of Marawi City by the fighting may try to cross from the Philippines to its eastern state of Sabah.

“We fear that they may enter the country disguised as illegal immigrants or foreign fishermen,” said Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) chief Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid, according to state news agency Bernama.

It said Esscom had drawn up a “wanted” list that included two militants who spearheaded the attempt to capture Marawi.

They are Abu Sayyaf group leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was proclaimed by Islamic State last year as its “emir” of Southeast Asia, and Abdullah Maute, whose followers accounted for a large number of the estimated 400-500 fighters who overran part of the town, killing Christians and taking dozens of civilians hostage.

The fighting in Marawi broke out on May 23.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera said on Thursday the number of militants holding out in Marawi had dwindled to “a little over 100”.

Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Tampus said: “Their area has been reduced to 1 km square only.” Tampus’ troops are blocking escape routes across bridges spanning a river to the west of the militants.

“Our forces are coming from the east and the north and we are blocking the three bridges,” he said.

Tampus told reporters that the militants were still using snipers who were firing from “strategic nests” in schools and mosques, and homemade bombs were hampering the progress of Philippine troops as they advanced house by house.

He said he had seen at least five civilians dressed in black who appeared to have been forced to stand in the street as human shields.

According to official estimates late on Wednesday, 369 people have been killed during the month of hostilities, three-quarters of them militants. The number of security forces and civilians killed stood at 67 and 26, respectively.

For graphic on Philippines hostage drama, click: http://tmsnrt.rs/2sOnEp8

(Additional reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales in MANILA and Rozanna Latiff in KUALA LUMPUR; Writing by John Chalmers)

Philippines says some militants may have slipped out of embattled city

An armoured personnel carrier (APC) drives along the road of Amai Pakpak, as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over large parts of Marawi city, Philippines. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Simon Lewis

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – The Philippines military said on Friday that some of the Islamist militants who stormed Marawi City in the south of the country last month may have mingled with evacuees to slip away during the battle that has raged for nearly four weeks.

Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said security had been tightened in the cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro and the authorities there were on the lookout for suspicious characters who might “attempt to sow some confusion or sow terror”.

“We’re not denying that there’s probably a few who may have slipped along with the evacuees from Marawi going to Iligan and Cagayan de Oro,” he told reporters in Manila, while OV-10 aircraft in Marawi pounded an area where militants have been holed up since May 23.

The military says that up to 200 fighters, most of them from local insurgent groups that have pledged allegiance to Islamic State but also some foreign fighters, are holding out, using civilians as human shields and mosques as safe havens.

The attempt by hundreds of well-armed militants to overrun and seal off the city has alarmed governments across Southeast Asia, which fear that Islamic State – losing ground in Iraq and Syria – is trying to establish a foothold in their region that could bring a rash of extremist violence.

The defense ministers and military chiefs of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines will meet in the Indonesian town of Tarakan, on Borneo island, on Monday to discuss the threat and agree on steps to coordinate better to confront terrorism.

A port town, Tarakan is just south of the Malaysian side of Borneo and looks out across the sea to Mindanao in the southern Philippines, a sprawling island that has been plagued by insurgencies and banditry for decades.

Philippines military spokesman Padilla told reporters that talk of fighters planning attacks in neighboring towns was based on “misinformation that’s being spread by the enemies” and in fact their capacity was severely reduced.

In a battle assessment on Friday, the military said those still in the town were also weakening.

“Enemy resistance continues to dwindle and enemy-held areas continues to get smaller as troops advance,” it said, but giving no indication of how long it might take to retake the town.

Previous deadlines to defeat the insurgents were missed.

More than 300 people have been killed in the battle for Marawi, according to official estimates, including 225 militants, 59 soldiers and 26 civilians.

A politician who has led rescue and relief efforts said on Thursday that residents fleeing Marawi had seen at least 100 dead bodies in an area where the fighting had been fierce. The military said it could not confirm that number.

(Additional reporting by Manny Mogato in MANILA; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Philippine politician says residents report scores of bodies in embattled city

Smoke comes from a burning building as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over large parts of Marawi city, Philippines June 15, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Neil Jerome Morales and Simon Lewis

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – A Philippines politician said on Thursday residents fleeing besieged Marawi City had seen scores of dead bodies in an area where intense fighting has taken place between security forces and Islamist militants over the past three weeks.

“Dead bodies, at least 100, scattered around the encounter area,” Zia Alonto Adiong, a politician in the area who is helping in rescue and relief efforts, told reporters, referring to accounts he had received from fleeing residents.

The military said it could not confirm the report.

The army has said 290 people have been killed in the more than three weeks of fighting, including 206 militants, 58 soldiers and 26 civilians.

Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera, a military spokesman, said troops were advancing toward the commercial center of Marawi City, which is held by the militants who have sworn allegiance to Islamic State.

“We intend to finish the fight as soon as possible. Our tactical commanders are doing their best,” Herrera said.

But troops still faced up to 200 fighters, many of whom had taken up sniper positions, he said.

“The battlefield is very fluid,” he said.

Earlier, the military said it had arrested a cousin of the top militant commanders leading the Islamists in their fight against the government.

The man, Mohammad Noaim Maute, alias Abu Jadid, was arrested at a checkpoint near the coastal city of Cagayan de Oro just after dawn, Herrera said.

Herrera had earlier identified him as a brother of Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute, who head the Maute gang that is at the forefront of the battle for Marawi City.

Marawi is about 100 km (60 miles) south of Cagayan de Oro, but it was not clear whether Mohammad was coming from the embattled city.

Most of the seven Maute brothers, including Omarkhayam and Abdullah, are believed to be in Marawi.

Their parents were taken into custody last week in separate cities.

Brigadier-General Gilbert Gapay, spokesman for the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said Mohammad Noaim Maute was a suspected bomb-maker for the group.

He said Maute was holding a fake student card of the Mindanao State University, based in Marawi, when stopped at the checkpoint. He was not armed.

Police said Maute, an Arabic-language teacher, readily admitted his identity when questioned.

(Additional reporting by Manny Mogato; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Robert Birsel)