Tag Archives: Philippines

Residents shield Christians in bold exodus from Philippines city

Soldiers onboard military trucks ride along the main street as government troops continue their assault on insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over large parts of Marawi City, Philippines. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Tom Allard

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – More than 160 civilians walked out of the besieged Philippines city of Marawi just after dawn on Saturday, deceiving Islamist fighters they encountered by hiding the identity of the many Christians among them.

The audacious exodus came after text message warnings that a major assault by Philippines aircraft and ground troops was imminent in the center of the southern city, where some 250 militants and more than 2,000 civilians remain trapped.

“We saved ourselves,” said Norodin Alonto Lucman, a well-known former politician and traditional clan leader who sheltered 71 people, including more than 50 Christians, in his home during the battle that erupted on May 23 in the town of more than 200,000 on the southern island of Mindanao.

“There’s this plan to bomb the whole city if ISIS don’t agree to the demands of the government,” he said, referring to local and foreign fighters who have sworn allegiance to the ultra-radical Islamic State.

Many evacuees told Reuters they had received text messages warning of a bombing campaign.

“We had a tip from the general commander that we should go out,” said Leny Paccon, who gave refuge to 54 people in her home, including 44 Christians. “When I got the text, immediately we go out … about 7 o’clock.”

By then, Lucman and his guests had begun their escape march from another area, holding white flags and moving briskly.

“As we walked, others joined us,” he told reporters. “We had to pass through a lot of [militant] snipers.”

Some of the civilians were stopped and asked if there were any Christians among them, said Jaime Daligdig, a Christian construction worker.

“We shouted ‘Allahu akbar’,” he told Reuters, adding that thanks to that Muslim rallying cry they were allowed to pass.

Those who fled included teachers from Dansalan College, a protestant school torched on the first day of the battle.

Christians have been killed and taken hostage by the militants, a mix of local fighters from the Maute Group and other Islamist outfits, as well as foreigners who joined the cause under the Islamic State banner.

The vast majority of Filipinos are Christian, but Mindanao has a larger proportion of Muslims and Islam is followed by the vast majority in Marawi City.

ROTTING BODIES, DEBRIS

Lucman said that many of those trapped were on the verge of starvation, which also gave them the courage to leave.

He described a scene of devastation in the town center, where the streets were strewn with rotting bodies and debris. “I almost puked as we were walking,” Lucman said, estimating that there were more than 1,000 dead.

Official government estimates recorded 120 militants, 38 government forces and 20 civilians as dead on Saturday.

Lucman and Paccon said militants had knocked on their doors while they sheltered the terrified Christians. They shooed them away saying there were women and children inside.

Adding to the anxiety, both said they were within 100 meters (320 feet) of militant command posts. Although the Philippines military knew civilians remained in their homes, ordnance exploded nearby repeatedly over the past week.

Resident Asnaira Asis said militants knocked on her door too, offering money or food if she handed over her 11-year-old son. “They wanted him to be a fighter,” she told Reuters after joining the morning exodus. “I said no.”

After an impromptu ceasefire as the civilians evacuated, bombing and ground skirmishes continued on Saturday, and FA50 fighter jets dropped bombs on the town center.

Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the conflict would be over soon but he gave no operational plans. He said there were 250 militants still in the town, far more than the 20-30 cited by the military on Friday.

“They can still put up a good fight. That’s why it’s giving us difficulty in clearing the area,” he told a news conference.

Lorenzana said there was still a big cohort of foreign fighters in Marawi.

Officials have said militants from as far away as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Chechnya and Morocco joined the battle, raising concerns that Islamic State is seeking to establish a regional foothold there.

(Editing by John Chalmers and Helen Popper)

Seizing of Philippines city by Islamist militants a wake-up call for Southeast Asia

FILE PHOTO: Soldiers stand guard along the main street of Mapandi village as government troops continue their assault on insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over large parts of Marawi City, Philippines June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Tom Allard

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – At the beginning of the battle that has raged for the past 12 days in Marawi City at the southern end of the Philippines, dozens of Islamist militants stormed its prison, overwhelming the guards.

“They said ‘surrender the Christians’,” said Faridah P. Ali, an assistant director of the regional prison authority. “We only had one Christian staff member so we put him with the inmates so he wouldn’t be noticed,” he said.

Fighters from the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), menaced the guards and shouted at prisoners: but no one gave up the Christian man. “When they freed the inmates, he got free,” said Ali.

It was a brief moment of cheer, but over the next few hours the militants took control of most of the city, attacked the police station and stole weapons and ammunition, and set up roadblocks and positioned snipers on buildings at key approaches. The assault has already led to the death of almost 180 people and the vast majority of Marawi’s population of about 200,000 has fled.

For a graphic about the battle:(http://tmsnrt.rs/2rhRPEa)

The seizing of the city by Maute and its allies on the island of Mindanao is the biggest warning yet that the Islamic State is building a base in Southeast Asia and bringing the brutal tactics seen in Iraq and Syria in recent years to the region.

Defense and other government officials from within the region told Reuters evidence is mounting that this was a sophisticated plot to bring forces from different groups who support the Islamic State together to take control of Marawi.

The presence of foreigners – intelligence sources say the fighters have included militants from as far away as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Chechnya and Morocco – alongside locals in Marawi, has particularly alarmed security officials.

For some time, governments in Southeast Asia have been worried about what happens when battle-hardened Islamic State fighters from their countries return home as the group loses ground in the Middle East, and now they have added concerns about the region becoming a magnet for foreign jihadis.

“If we do nothing, they get a foothold in this region,” said Hishammuddin Hussein, the defence minister of neighboring Malaysia.

Defense and military officials in the Philippines said that all four of the country’s pro-Islamic State groups sent fighters to Marawi with the intention of establishing the city as a Southeast Asian ‘wilayat’ – or governorate – for the radical group.

Mindanao – roiled for decades by Islamic separatists, communist rebels, and warlords – was fertile ground for Islamic State’s ideology to take root. This is the one region in this largely Catholic country to have a significant Muslim minority and Marawi itself is predominantly Muslim.

It is difficult for governments to prevent militants from getting to Mindanao from countries like Malaysia and Indonesia through waters that have often been lawless and plagued by pirates.

The Combating Terrorism Center, a West Point, New York-based think tank, said in a report this week that Islamic State is leveraging militant groups in Southeast Asia to solidify and expand its presence in the region. The key will be how well it manages relations with the region’s jihadi old guard, CTC said.

COMMANDER FIRED

The Maute group’s attack is the biggest challenge faced by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte since coming to power last June. He has declared martial law in Mindanao, which is his political base.

His defense forces were caught off guard by the assault and have had difficulty in regaining control of the city – on Saturday they were still struggling to wipe out pockets of resistance.

On Monday, Brigadier-General Nixon Fortes, the commander of the army brigade in Marawi, was sacked.

An army spokesman said this was unrelated to the battle. But a military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Friday that Fortes was dismissed because not all his forces were in the city when the rebels began their rampage, even though military intelligence had indicated that Islamist militants were amassing there.

The assault came just months after security forces attacked the mountain lair of Isnilon Hapilon, a long-time leader of Abu Sayyaf, or “Father of the Sword”, a notorious Islamist militant group known for kidnapping.

He swore allegiance to Islamic State in 2014, and quickly got other groups to join him. Most important among them was the Maute group, run by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute from a well-known family in Marawi.

In a video that surfaced last June, a Syria-based leader of the group urged followers in the region to join Hapilon if they could not travel to the Middle East. Hapilon was named IS leader in Southeast Asia last year.

The Philippines military said Hapilon was likely wounded in the raids but managed to escape to Marawi, where he joined up with the Maute group.

According to a statement on a social media group used by Maute fighters, the group wants to cleanse Marawi of Christians, Shi’ite Muslims, and polytheists – who believe in more than one God. It also wants to ban betting, karaoke and so-called “relationship dating.”

MOUNTAIN LAIRS

Some officials said Philippines security forces became complacent about the threat from IS after the January raids.

“We did not notice they have slipped into Marawi because we are focusing on their mountain lairs,” Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters.

Over the past few months, Philippine and Indonesian intelligence sources said, Hapilon’s forces were swelled by foreign fighters and new recruits within Marawi. Many of the outsiders came to Marawi using the cover of an Islamic prayer festival in the city last month, said Philippines military spokesman Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera.

Lorenzana said that Hapilon brought 50-100 fighters to join Maute’s 250-300 men, while two other groups, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters  and the Ansar Al-Khilafah Philippines, together brought at least 40 militants with them.

On May 23, four days before the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, they launched their attack when Philippine forces made an abortive attempt to capture Hapilon inside Marawi.

After the military retreated in the face of a phalanx of armed guards, about 400 militants quickly fanned out across the city, riding trucks mounted with 50-calibre machine guns and armed with rocket-propelled grenades and high-powered rifles.

Within hours, they attacked the jail and nearby police station, seizing weapons and ammunition, according to accounts from residents.

The Dansalan College, a Protestant institution, and the Catholic Cathedral of Maria Auxiliadora, were both razed, and a priest and about a dozen other parishioners captured. They remain hostages.

A Shi’ite mosque was also destroyed, and a statue of Jose Rizal, the Philippines hero of the uprising against Spanish rule, was beheaded.

SNIPERS ON ROOFTOPS

Herrera said the attack had the hallmarks of a professional military operation. “There was a huge, grand plan to seize the whole of Marawi,” he said.

After the initial battle, IS flags flew across the city and masked fighters roamed the streets proclaiming Marawi was theirs, using loud-hailers to urge residents to join them and handing out weapons to those who took up the offer, according to residents.

The military brought in helicopters to fire rockets at militant positions as ground troops began to retake key bridges and buildings, though some residents this has also led to the deaths of civilians.

“ISIS people were running on the street, running away from them. They were bombing them in the street (but) it hit our house and the mosque. Many other houses too,” said Amerah Dagalangit, a pregnant 29-year-old in an evacuation center near Marawi.

“Many people died when the bomb exploded,” she said, adding that a Muslim priest and children were among the victims.

Military officials said they had not received any report of the incident. Reuters could not independently verify the account.

The military has said 20 civilians have been killed in the fighting and that all were at the hands of the militants. It also says 120 rebels and 38 members of the security forces have been killed, including 10 soldiers who died from friendly fire in an airstrike.

“PEOPLE WILL GET KILLED”

Officials in neighboring Indonesia worry that even if the Filipinos successfully take back Marawi in coming days, the threat will still remain high.

“We worry they will come over here,” said one Indonesian counter-terrorism official, noting that Mindanao wasn’t very far from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

More than 2,000 people remain trapped in the center of Marawi, with no electricity and little food and water. Some are pinned down by the crossfire between the military and the militants, while others fear they will be intercepted by the militants as they flee, according to residents.

The bodies of eight laborers who had been shot in the head were found in a ravine outside Marawi last Sunday. The police said they had been stopped by the militants while escaping the city.

There will most likely be more civilian casualties in retaking the city, the military said.

“We are expecting that people will get starved, people will get hurt, people will get killed,” said Herrera, the military spokesman. “In these types of operations, you can’t get 100 per cent no collateral damage.”

(With Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Martin Howell)

Gunman torches Philippine casino, killing at least 36 people

Policemen stand guard near evacuated employees of a hotel near a situation at a Resorts World building, in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

By Manolo Serapio Jr and Neil Jerome Morales

MANILA (Reuters) – A gunman burst into a casino in the Philippine capital on Friday, setting gaming tables alight and killing at least 36 people who suffocated in thick smoke, in an attack claimed by Islamic State but which officials believe was a botched robbery.

The gunman killed himself in a hotel room after being shot and wounded by security officers at the Resorts World Manila entertainment complex, police said. A second “person of interest” who was in the casino at the time was cooperating with the investigation, police said.

Most of the dead suffocated in the chaos. Many guests and staff had tried to hide from the gunfire rather than get out of the building when attack began shortly after midnight (1600 GMT) and fell victim to the smoke, the fire bureau said.

“Islamic State fighters carried out the Manila attack in the Philippines,” the militant group’s Amaq news agency said.

But that was quickly rejected by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, who said all the evidence pointed to an attempt to steal casino chips. Police said they were not looking at other motives.

“This is plain and simple propaganda,” Esperon told Reuters.

“If the lone gunman was really an IS terrorist, why did he not shot and kill people in the casino? He only went for the casino chips.”

The IS claim, which came nearly 24 hours after the attack, also contradicted a statement from Ernesto Abella, a spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte, who said there was no evidence linking it to fighting between government troops and Islamist militants in the country’s south.

“All indications point to a criminal act by an apparently emotionally disturbed individual,” Abella told a news conference. “Although the perpetrator gave warning shots, there apparently was no indication that he wanted to do harm or shoot anyone.”

Oscar Albayalde, chief of the capital’s police office, said those who died were in the casino’s main gaming area.

“What caused their deaths is the thick smoke,” he told reporters. “The room was carpeted and of course the tables, highly combustible.”

A Resorts World official said the dead included 22 guests.

DEATH IN ROOM 510

At dawn, the body of the suspected gunman was found in a hotel room in the smoldering complex, which is close to Manila’s airport and an air force base, police said.

“He burned himself inside the hotel room 510,” national police chief Ronald dela Rosa told a news conference. “He lay down on the bed, covered himself in a thick blanket and apparently doused himself in gasoline.”

Resorts World Chief Operating Officer Stephen Reilly said casino guards had shot and wounded the gunman – armed with what authorities described as a “baby armalite” – during the attack.

“Severe loss of blood from the gunshot wound significantly slowed down the assailant and resulted to his holing up in the room where he took his own life,” Reilly said.

Officials said at least 54 people were hurt, some seriously, as they rushed to escape what was at first was believed to have been a militant attack.

Survivor Magdalena Ramos, who was a guest at the hotel, said people began shouting “ISIS! ISIS!” when the gunfire began. The 57-year-old said she hid in a kitchen and then fled when the smoke became too thick.

But police quickly said they did not believe the attacker had any militant connections.

“We cannot attribute this to terrorism,” national police chief dela Rosa told DZMM radio.

“We are looking into a robbery angle because he did not hurt any people and went straight to the casino chips storage room. He parked at the second floor and barged into the casino, shooting large TV screens and poured gasoline on a table setting it on fire,” he said.

Earlier reports said the gunman may have been white, but police later said he appeared to be Filipino, although they were still establishing his nationality.

Kimberly Molitas, a spokeswoman for the capital’s police office, said 113 million pesos ($2.27 million) worth of casino chips stolen during the raid had been recovered.

GUNSHOTS, PANIC

Videos posted on social media showed people fleeing as several loud bangs went off.

“Even the security personnel panicked,” casino guest Jeff Santos told a radio station. “Definitely us patrons we did not expect that, everyone ran away.”

Jeri Ann Santiago, who works in the emergency room at the San Juan de Dios hospital, said patients were suffering from smoke inhalation and some had fractures. None had gunshot wounds, she said.

The Philippines has been on heightened alert amid a crisis in the south of the country, where troops have been battling Islamist rebels since May 23.

Duterte declared martial law on the southern island of Mindanao last week and has warned it could become a haven for Islamic State supporters fleeing Iraq and Syria.

Security was tightened around the presidential palace on Friday, with armored personal carriers stationed on approach roads and river ferries barred from passing close by.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said four people from Taiwan were among those killed and South Korea said one of its citizens had died, apparently after a heart attack.

Shares in resort owner Travellers International Hotel Group Inc, a joint venture of the Philippines’ Alliance Global Group Inc and Genting Hong Kong Ltd, fell 7 percent.

(Additional reporting by Peter Blaza, Clare Baldwin, Karen Lema, Manuel Mogato, Enrico Dela Cruz and Martin Petty in MANILA and Ju-min Park in SEOUL; Writing by Alex Richardson and Lincoln Feast; Editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)

Philippines urges Islamist rebels to surrender as battle enters eighth day

A Philippine Marine fires a weapon towards the stronghold of Maute group in Marawi City in southern Philippines May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

By Tom Allard

MARAWI, Philippines (Reuters) – The Philippine military urged Islamist militants occupying a southern city to turn themselves in on Tuesday, the eighth day of a push by security forces using armored vehicles and firing rockets from helicopters to eliminate the gunmen.

The government says it is close to retaking Marawi from the Islamic State-linked Maute group, which seized parts of the city after a failed attempt by security forces to capture Isnilon Hapilon, the militants’ so-called emir of Southeast Asia.

“We call on the remaining terrorists to surrender while there is an opportunity,” a military spokesman, Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, told reporters.

As helicopters circled the lakeside city where smoke billowed out of some buildings, troops cleared rebel positions amid explosions and automatic gunfire, moving house by house and street by street.

More than 100 people have been killed, most of them militants, according to the military, and most of the city’s residents have fled.

A Catholic priest held captive by the militants with a dozen other civilians appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to consider their plight and stop the military operation.

Father Teresito “Chito” Soganub, vicar general of Marawi City, and the others were abducted in a cathedral last week.

“We are asking your help to please give what your enemies are asking for,” the priest said on a video clip shown on a Telegram channel used by Islamic State.

“We still want to live for another day, a month and a few years, please consider us Mr President,” he said.

A politician involved in efforts to evacuate residents, Zia Alonto Adiong, said authorities had cleared 85 percent of the city but reclaiming the rest would be a challenge because they were dense urban areas with trapped civilians.

“There’s an intensifying military operation that’s going on,” Adiong told a media briefing.

Though most people have left, thousands are stranded, worried they could be intercepted by militants if they tried to flee.

‘LIVE ANOTHER DAY’

Martin Thalmann, deputy head of delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said he tried, but failed to convince Islamic State affiliated insurgents and government forces to halt the violence so it can deliver aid.

“It’s so intense, it’s not possible,” Thalmann told reporters, referring to the fighting.

“There’s still a lot of people in there and of course it’s a concern that they suffer under this shelling and we wonder if all the precautions are taken.”

Air strikes were aimed at “specific targets of resistance to protect our troops and hasten clearing of the city”, Padilla said, adding that “collateral damage” was being prevented.

Nearly 85,000 displaced people are staying in 38 shelter areas outside Marawi.

Leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a separatist Muslim guerrilla group that has been in talks with the government, said they had agreed to help distribute aid after they met the president for talks.

Duterte had appealed on the weekend to rebel forces to become “soldiers of the republic” and unite to defeat the hardline Maute and allied Abu Sayyaf groups.

The Maute’s ability to fight for so long will add to fears that Islamic State’s ideology is spreading in the southern Philippines and it could become a haven for militants from Southeast Asia and beyond.

Malaysians and Indonesians were among the rebels killed.

The government believes the Maute carried out their assault before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to capture the attention of Islamic State and earn recognition as a regional affiliate.

In the video footage, the captured priest was standing on a deserted street with ruins around him and the sound of gunfire in the background.

“They simply are not asking for anything, just to withdraw your forces … and to stop the air strikes, your air attacks, and stop the cannons,” Soganub said.

Marawi Bishop Edwin dela Pena confirmed to Reuters that it was Soganub in the video but declined to comment any further.

Soganub, wearing a black shirt and trousers, said the militants had the right to practice their faith and enforce Islamic laws in the city.

Padilla said the military was aware of the video.

“This is pure propaganda. The Maute group is using this to stop our clearing operations,” Padilla said.

Padilla said he was confident the militants would not harm the priest because they wanted to use him to gain concessions.

(Additional reporting by Erik de Castro in MARAWI and Manuel Mogato in MANILA; Writing by Karen Lema; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Christians caught up in Philippines’ urban battle with Islamists

A view of a fire caused by continued fighting between the government soldiers and the Maute group, in Marawi City in southern Philippines May 28, 2017.

By Tom Allard

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Bishop Edwin Dela Pena was sipping coffee after dinner in a southern Philippines coastal town last Tuesday when he received a phone call: it was from one of his diocese priests, who sounded panicky and distressed.

Father Teresito “Chito” Sugarno, the vicar general of Marawi City, had been taken hostage by Islamist militants along with about a dozen of his parishioners.

“He was only given a few lines to deliver, and it was simply echoing the demands of the kidnappers – for the troops to withdraw,” said Dela Pena. If the demand was not met, he was told, “something bad would happen”.

There has been no further word from the group of Christians since they were caught up in a ferocious battle that has raged between Islamist insurgents and Philippines soldiers in Marawi for the past week.

As many as 180,000 people, about 90 percent of the population, have fled the usually bustling lakeside town nestled in lush tropical hills that, almost overnight last week, became a theater of urban warfare.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across Mindanao – the country’s southernmost island and an area the size of South Korea – as troops outside Marawi closed in on  Isnilon Hapilon, who was proclaimed “emir” of Southeast Asia last year after he pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

Mindanao has long been a hotbed of local insurgencies and separatist movements: but now, Islamist fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries have converged in Mindanao, stoking fears that it could become a regional stronghold of Islamic State.

More than 90 percent of the Philippines’ 100 million people are Christian, but here Muslims are in the majority. In 1980 Marawi proclaimed itself an “Islamic City” and it is the only city in the country with that designation.

For the small Christian community of Marawi, however, life in the city had until recently been peaceful and prosperous.

“We don’t consider ourselves Muslims or Christians, we are just friends,” said Dela Pena, who has lived for 17 years in Marawi but was out of town when the violence broke out.

That peace was shattered some months ago, he said, after the army bombed an encampment of Islamist groups some 50 km (30 miles) away.

“They said they pulverized the whole camp, but these people simply transferred their base of operation from the jungle to the urban center, to the city, Marawi,” he told Reuters in an interview from Iligan City, 37 km (23 miles) from Marawi.

“They came in trickles, a few people at a time. They have relatives there. They lived, they recruited,” he said, adding that authorities appear to have missed the looming threat.

Members of Philippine Marines walk next to an armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) as they advance their position in Marawi City, Philippines May 28

Members of Philippine Marines walk next to an armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) as they advance their position in Marawi City, Philippines May 28, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

CATHEDRAL ATTACKED AND TORCHED

Chaos was unleashed upon Marawi when troops searching for Hapilon were ambushed by heavily armed militants.

More than 200 local and foreign fighters from the Maute group and others allied to Islamic State fanned out across the city, seizing the main hospital and prison before attacking the Cathedral of Maria Auxiliadora.

Inside, nearby residents told Dela Pena, Father Teresito and a group of worshippers were decorating the church for a holy day to celebrate the life of Mary, a sacred figure in both Christianity and Islam.

Dela Pena said they ran to the nearby bishop’s house, hoping they would be safe there, but the militants burst in after them. That evening, after bundling their captives into vehicles, they torched the church, according to the residents.

Photos showing the priest, a young man and a woman slumped against a wall have circulated on the internet. Dela Pena believes they are being used as human shields by the militants.

“I cannot imagine. I have no words to describe it,” he said.

Still, he remains hopeful that the city can unite again. The vast majority of Marawi’s citizens, whatever their faith, are appalled by the violence and disruption, he said.

“I think we can begin something more effective in terms of working together, in terms of dialogue, in terms of peaceful coexistence,” he said. “After all, we have shared the same predicament.”

(Additional reporting by Karen Lema in MANILA; Editing by John Chalmers and Lincoln Feast)

Philippine president urges IS-linked rebels to halt siege, start talks

Residents carrying belongings walk past a mosque towards an evacuation center after government troops continued an assault on fighters from the Maute group who have taken over large parts of Marawi city, southern Philippines May 26, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Tom Allard

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appealed to Islamist militants on Friday to abandon hostilities and start dialogue in an effort to end their bloody occupation of a southern city that experts called a major blow to regional security.

Duterte said the presence of foreign fighters in street battles that have raged since Tuesday in Marawi City was proof that Islamic State had gained a foothold on the restive island of Mindanao, but there was still a chance for peace.

“You can say that the ISIS is here already,” Duterte told soldiers in nearby Iligan City, referring to Islamic State.

“My message mainly to the terrorists on the other side is we can still solve this through dialogue. And if you cannot be convinced to stop fighting, so be it. Let’s just fight.”

Special forces commandoes were deployed to drive out the remaining 20 to 30 Maute group rebels holed-up in Marawi but encountered heavy resistance on Friday. The army said 11 soldiers and 31 militants have been killed.

Fighting erupted on Tuesday after a bungled raid by security forces on a Maute hideout, which spiraled into chaos, with gunmen seizing bridges, roads and buildings and taking Christians hostage. Duterte responded by declaring martial law throughout his native island of Mindanao.

Rohan Gunaratna, a Singapore-based security expert, said the siege was a wake-up call for the Philippines.

“Islamic State capturing a major city in the Philippines is a very significant blow to the security and stability of this region,” he said.

“The Filipinos need to get their act together … They must understand the truth that IS ideology took hold in their country. The local groups have transformed.”

Malaysians, Indonesians and other foreigners were among the guerrillas killed on Thursday, which the government said demonstrated how the Philippines could become a haven for overseas militants.

The White House on Thursday said it backed the Philippine fight against “cowardly terrorists”.

Duterte has warned of “contamination” by Islamic State, exploiting the poverty, lawlessness and porous borders of predominantly Muslim Mindanao island to establish a base for radicals from Southeast Asia and beyond.

He has pleaded with political and Islamic leaders to keep foreign and local militants at bay. Months of air and ground offensives in Mindanao have not dented their resolve.

FOREIGN INVASION

“What’s happening in Mindanao is no longer a rebellion of Filipino citizens,” Solicitor General Jose Calida told reporters in explaining why martial law was imposed.

“It has transmogrified into invasion by foreign terrorists, who heeded the call of the ISIS to go to the Philippines if they find difficulty in going to Iraq and Syria.”

Most of Marawi’s 200,000 inhabitants fled after the gunmen ran amok on Tuesday, seizing and torching buildings, freeing militants from jails and taking a priest and churchgoers hostage at the city’s cathedral.Duterte has dealt with separatist unrest during his 22 years as mayor in Mindanao but the Maute’s rise and signs that it has ties to another group, the Abu Sayyaf, present one of the biggest challenges of a presidency won on promises to fight drugs and lawlessness.

Philippine intelligence indicates the two groups from different parts of Mindanao are connected, through Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of a radical faction of Abu Sayyaf.

Abu Sayyaf has a track record of banditry, piracy and violence, while the lesser-known Maute group has proven itself a fierce battlefield opponent for the military, able to sustain air and artillery bombardments and regroup after heavy losses.

Hapilon was the target of Tuesday’s botched raid and Duterte said Islamic State in the Middle East had anointed him as its man in the Philippines, and Hapilon was revered as its leader.

Military chief General Eduardo Ano said the fierce resistance by the Maute in Marawi was to protect Hapilon, who was in poor condition after being wounded in a January air strike.

“If we capture him, all the better. But if he fights back we have to do what is necessary,” he told reporters.

Convoys of vehicles packed with evacuees and protected by soldiers streamed into Iligan. Mark Angelou Siega, a Christian, described how students fled their campus.

“We were so scared and so were our Muslim brothers and sisters. We were sure they would get to us,” he said.

“These terrorists are not real Muslims.”

Calida said the Maute group and Islamic State were radicalizing young Muslims and the government was not the only target of their aggression.

“People they consider as infidels, whether Christians or Muslims, are also targets,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in DAVAO CITY, Kanupriya Kapoor in SINGAPORE, Romeo Ranoco in MARAWI CITY and Enrico dela Cruz and Manolo Serapio Jr in MANILA; Writing by Martin Petty)

Philippines deploys top commandoes, attack helicopters to retake city from Islamist rebels

Military vehicles carrying government troops drive along a main highway of Pantar town, Lanao Del Norte, as they travel to reinforce Marawi city, southern Philippines May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Romeo Ranoco and Roli Ng

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – The Philippines deployed attack helicopters and special forces to drive out Islamic State-linked rebels holed up in a besieged southern city on Thursday, as efforts to take back control met heavy resistance.

Ground troops hid behind walls and armored vehicles and exchanged volleys of gunfire with Maute group fighters, firing into elevated positions occupied by militants who have held Marawi City on Mindanao island for two days.

Helicopters circled the city, peppering Maute positions with machine gun fire to try to force them from a bridge vital to retaking Marawi, a mainly Muslim city of 200,000 where fighters had torched and seized a school, a jail, a cathedral, and took more than a dozen hostages.

“We’re confronting maybe 30 to 40 remaining from the local terrorist group,” said Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesman for the military’s First Infantry Regiment.

“The military is conducting precise, surgical operations to flush them out … The situation is very fluid and movements are dynamic because we wanted to out-step and outmaneuver them.”

The battles with the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, started on Tuesday afternoon during a failed raid by security forces on one of the group’s hideouts, which spiraled into chaos.

The turmoil was the final straw for President Rodrigo Duterte, who delivered on his threat to impose martial law on Mindanao, the country’s second-largest island, to stop the spread of radical Islam.

Islamic State claimed responsibility late on Wednesday for Maute’s activities via its Amaq news agency.

At least 21 people – seven soldiers, 13 rebels and a civilian – have been killed and religious leaders say militants were using Christians taken hostage during the fighting as human shields.

The White House condemned the Maute group as “cowardly terrorists” and said in a statement the United States was a proud ally of the Philippines and would continue to support its fight against extremism.

GETTING OUT

Hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in a military camp in Marawi City as troops helped clear the few remaining people from streets where smoke lingered in the air.

“We’re leaving,” said a resident named Edith, walking along a rundown street carrying a small suitcase.

“We can no longer take it and we need to save our children.”

Sultan Haji Ismael Demasala said he was staying and would leave his fate in God’s hands.

“If Allah wills it so, then we cannot stop it,” he said, pointing his finger in the air.

Hostilities eased overnight but flared late on Thursday morning when troops started their clearing operations.

A major obstacle was an armored vehicle parked across a bridge, which Maute fighters were using for cover, a Reuters journalist said.

Marawi is in Lanao del Sur province, a stronghold of the Maute, a fierce, but little-known group that has been a tricky opponent for the military.

Tuesday’s raid was aimed at capturing Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of radical faction of another militant group, the Abu Sayyaf. The government says Hapilon is a point man for Islamic State and has been collaborating with the Maute group.

“Based on our intelligence, Isnilon Hapilon is still in the city,” Herrera said.

The Maute group’s rise is a source of concern for Mindanao native Duterte, who is familiar with Muslim separatist unrest but alarmed by the prospect of rebels helping Islamic State to recruit and establish a presence in the volatile region of 22 million people.

Duterte has threatened harsh measures and said martial law would remain be maintained for as long as it took to restore order.

The president was due to hold a cabinet meeting on Thursday in Davao, his home city and the biggest on Mindanao.

Security was stepped up in Davao, with more military checkpoints and some businesses sending staff home during daylight hours. Residents were urged to stay vigilant.

In the city where Duterte was mayor for 22 years, and enjoys a cult-like following, residents were supportive of martial law.

“It’s not a hassle. It is good because it prevents harmful events,” said manicurist Zoraida Jakosalem Himaya.

“He is like a father telling his children what to do.”

(Additional reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in DAVAO CITY and Enrico Dela Cruz and Manuel Mogato in MANILA; Writing by Martin Petty)

Defiant Duterte threatens harsh measures as thousands flee Islamic State

A government troop stands on guard checking vehicles evacuating residents from their hometown of Marawi city in southern Philippines, as it drives past a military checkpoint in Pantar town, Lanao Del Norte, Philippines May 24, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

By Romeo Ranoco

PANTAR, Philippines (Reuters) – Thousands of civilians fled fighting in the Philippines on Wednesday as troops sought to contain Islamic State-linked militants who took over large parts of a city, set building ablaze and captured a Catholic priest and other Christians.

President Rodrigo Duterte said he had no choice but to declare martial law on his native island of Mindanao following a failed raid by soldiers on Tuesday on a hideout of the Maute militant group, which triggered clashes and chaos across the largely Muslim city of Marawi.

Duterte said Islamic State could not be allowed to gain a foothold in the Christian-majority Philippines and he would do whatever it took to rebuff extremists from the Maute group and the allied Abu Sayyaf, even if it meant many would die.

“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. Do not force my hands into it,” said Duterte, who cut short his visit to Russia to return 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 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 on Wednesday 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.

Thirteen militants and seven members of the security forces have so far been killed and 33 troops wounded in the fighting, according to the military.

Duterte said martial law would mean checkpoints, arrests and searches without warrant, and it would go on for as long as it took to restore order, but he would not tolerate abuses of power by police or soldiers.

He said he would consider some legal measures in the central Visayas region next to Mindanao to facilitate arrests, and might even declare martial law nationwide if he felt extremists had proliferated. He was also furious that the Maute group had hoisted the flag of Islamic State.

EXTREMISTS HAVE ARRIVED

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

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

The military has not explained how the raid on an apartment hideout went so badly wrong and resulted in Maute gunmen going on the rampage and taking over roads, bridges, buildings and a hospital.

Duterte said he had heard reports that a police chief in Marawi may have been beheaded by the Maute.

The armed forces said it was 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) from Marawi.

Duterte said martial law in Mindanao, which would apply for 60 days initially, would be like that of the 1970s rule of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, remembered by many Filipinos as one of the darkest chapters of recent history. He said Marcos’ use of martial law was “very good”.

The Catholic church said rebels had taken hostage Father 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 Father Socrates Villegas, president of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

“We beg every Filipino to pray fervently.”

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 Maute and Abu Sayyaf have pledged allegiance to Islamic State and have proved fierce opponents for the military.

Critics chided Duterte for what they saw as an overreaction in declaring martial law on an island the size of South Korea and the second biggest in the Philippines, after an incident in one city.

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”.

(Additional reporting by Karen Lema, Enrico dela Cruz, Manuel Mogato in Manila; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Philippines calls for ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ between ASEAN, China on sea code

Philippine Senator Alan Peter Cayetano speaks during the Congressional confirmation hearing of Environment Secretary Regina Lopez at the Senate in Manila, Philippines May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

By Martin Petty and Manuel Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) – Southeast Asian nations and China should start with a “gentleman’s agreement” on the busy South China Sea waterway because no mechanism exists to legally enforce any deal, the Philippine foreign minister said on Friday.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China on Thursday finished a draft framework for negotiating a code of conduct, despite regional scepticism whether Beijing will commit to rules likely to restrain its maritime ambitions.

Southeast Asian nations with claims in the South China Sea have long wanted to sign China up to a legally binding and enforceable code. It was unclear if that was mentioned in the framework draft, which has not been made public.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano played down the importance of a legally binding contract.

“If it’s legally binding, which court can the parties go to? And the countries that do not comply, will they respect that court?” he asked reporters.

“Let’s start with it being binding, gentlemen’s agreement. We have a community of nations that signed it.”

China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in sea-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

Click http://tmsnrt.rs/2qyBNpf for graphic on overlapping claims in the South China Sea

Last year, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague invalidated China’s claim to sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, in a case filed on maritime boundaries filed by the previous Philippine government in 2013.

A code of conduct is the key objective of a 2002 Declaration on Conduct, large parts of which China has ignored, particularly a commitment not to occupy or reclaim uninhabited features.

China has piled sand upon reefs to build seven islands in disputed parts of the Spratly archipelago. China has unfinished business there and has been transforming three of the reefs into what experts believe could be forward operating bases.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday described them as “some kind of armed garrison.”

The code framework would envisage a round-the-clock hotline and urge defense officials to find ways to follow the code, Chee Wee Kiong of Singapore’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Some ASEAN diplomats fear China’s sudden interest in completing it could be a strategy to buy time for Beijing to wrap up construction activities.

Experts say China wants to appear to engage ASEAN or bind its claimant states to a weak code at a time when U.S. policy on the South China Sea is in a state of flux.

One ASEAN diplomat said the latest draft did not mention any dispute settlement mechanism or sanctions for violations, but focused mostly on managing tension and building trust.

“We are very realistic and practical,” said the source, who declined to be identified. “We wanted first to pick the low hanging fruit. If we went straight to the contentious issues, we would not get to where we are now.”

The framework represented progress, but expectations should be realistic, said Jay Batongbacal, a Philippine academic and expert on the South China Sea.

“Given it’s been 15 years to get to a draft, I’m not really holding my breath,” he added.

Click http://tmsnrt.rs/2pSNmZq for graphic on Turf war on the South China Sea

(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Duterte says China’s Xi threatened war if Philippines drills for oil

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing. REUTERS/Etienne Oliveau/Pool

By Manuel Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday Chinese counterpart China Xi Jinping had warned him there would be war if Manila tried to enforce an arbitration ruling and drill for oil in a disputed part of the South China Sea.

In remarks that could infuriate China, Duterte hit back at domestic critics who said he has gone soft on Beijing by refusing to push it to comply with an award last year by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which ruled largely in favor of the Philippines.

Duterte said he discussed it with Xi when the two met in Beijing on Monday, and got a firm, but friendly warning.

“We intend to drill oil there, if it’s yours, well, that’s your view, but my view is, I can drill the oil, if there is some inside the bowels of the earth because it is ours,” Duterte said in a speech, recalling his conversation with Xi.

“His response to me, ‘we’re friends, we don’t want to quarrel with you, we want to maintain the presence of warm relationship, but if you force the issue, we’ll go to war.”

Duterte has long expressed his admiration for Xi and said he would raise the arbitration ruling with him eventually, but needed first to strengthen relations between the two countries, which the Philippines is hoping will yield billions of dollars in Chinese loans and infrastructure investments.

The Hague award clarifies Philippine sovereign rights in its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, 85 nautical miles off its coast.

It also invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim on its maps denoting sovereignty over most of the South China Sea.

Duterte has a reputation for his candid, at times incendiary, remarks and his office typically backpeddles on his behalf and blames the media for distorting his most controversial comments.

Duterte recalled the same story about his discussion with Xi on oil exploration in a recorded television show aired moments after the speech.

He said Xi told him “do not touch it”.

He said Xi had promised that the arbitration ruling would be discussed in future, but not now.

Duterte said China did not want to bring up the arbitral ruling at a time when other claimant countries, like Vietnam, might also decide to file cases against it at the arbitration tribunal.

It was not the first time the firebrand leader has publicly discussed the content of private meetings with other world leaders.

His remarks came the same day that China and the Philippines held their first session in a two-way consultation process on the South China Sea.

They exchanged views on “the importance of appropriately handling concerns, incidents and disputes involving the South China Sea”, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that gave few details.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Martin Petty)