Philippines pounds militants as civilians found shot dead

MARAWI, PHILIPPINES // Philippine forces found corpses in the streets of a besieged southern city on Sunday, including at least eight civilians who appeared to have been executed, as soldiers battled a weakened but still forceful group of militants linked to ISIL. The death toll from six days of fighting neared 100.

The crisis in Marawi, home to some 200,000 people, has grown increasingly dire as the militants show unexpected strength, fending off a military that has unleashed attack helicopters, armoured vehicles and scores of soldiers.

The military has intensified a bombing campaign on parts of Marawi on Mindanao island, one of the biggest Muslim cities in the mainly Catholic nation, as it accused the gunmen of atrocities including murdering women and a child.

Thousands of civilians have streamed out of Marawi and more than 2,000 were still trapped inside the city. Many sent desperate text messages begging to be rescued and reporting that their homes had been destroyed, said Zia Alonto Adiong, an official in Lanao del Sur, one of the country’s poorest provinces.

“Have mercy on us, we don’t have any more water to drink,” read one of the messages, sent to a hotline set up for trapped residents.

The violence prompted President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday to declare 60 days of martial law in the southern Philippines, where a Muslim separatist rebellion has raged for decades. But the recent bloodshed in Marawi has raised fears that extremism is growing as smaller militant groups unify and align themselves with ISIL.

Mr Duterte has said he will ignore the Supreme Court and congress as he enforces martial law across the southern third of the country, even though the constitution gives them oversight.

“Until the police and the armed forces say the Philippines is safe, this martial law will continue. I will not listen to others. The Supreme Court, congress, they are not here,” Mr Duterte told soldiers on Saturday.

“Are they the ones dying and losing blood, bleeding, hemorrhaging because there is no help, no reinforcement? It’s not them.”

The 1987 constitution imposes limits on martial law to prevent a repeat of the abuses under dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was deposed by a famous “People Power” revolution the previous year.

Much of Marawi is a no-go zone, but as the military advances and more civilians escape, the scope of the battle is becoming clear.

Relief workers at a provincial government complex in Marawi saw messages asking authorities to retrieve three bodies that were rotting near a resident’s home.

Speaking at the evacuation centre on Sunday, Saddat Liong said his house was hit by mortar fire and burned to the ground. Mr Liong, his wife and eight children lost everything, he said – even their cooking pots.

“I feel that we’ve lost our city,” he said.

Military spokesman Brig Gen Restituto Padilla said that combat operations were still going on, but that the militants were weakening.

“We believe they’re now low on ammunition and food,” he said, speaking by phone from Manila, the capital. “Compared to the initial days, there has been increasingly less resistance from the militants within Marawi.”

Gen Padilla said the bodies of four men, three women and a child were found near a road close to Mindanao State University in Marawi.

Eight other men were found gunned down and thrown into a shallow ravine on Sunday in Marawi’s Emi village, said police officer Jamail Mangadang. A paper sign attached to one of the men indicated that the victims had “betrayed their faith”, he said, identifying the men as civilians.

Marawi is a mostly Muslim city.

In addition to the civilian deaths, Gen Padilla said 61 militants, 11 soldiers and four police were among the dead.

The violence erupted Tuesday night when the government launched a raid to capture Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washington’s list of most-wanted terrorists. But the operation went awry and militants rampaged through the city, torching buildings and battling government forces in the streets.

A priest and several worshippers were taken hostage and there has been no word on their condition.

Hapilon, an Islamic preacher, was once a commander of the Abu Sayyaf militant group who pledged allegiance to ISIL in 2014. He now heads an alliance of at least 10 smaller militant groups, including the Maute, which has a heavy presence in Marawi and has been instrumental in fighting off government forces in the current battles.

Defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Hapilon has received funds from ISIL.

Washington has offered a $5 million (Dh18.38m) reward for information leading to Hapilon’s capture.

* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse