(Dan Tri) – As the `intense` war to expel the pro-IS rebel group from Marawi city has completed 100 days, the Philippine military is confident that the following days will be the end of the extremist terrorist group.
Philippine soldiers advance towards the Marawi fire pan.
Surrender or be destroyed
Since the lightning attack on Marawi city on May 23, Islamist rebels aligned with IS Maute have resisted fire attacks, air strikes and bombings by government troops.
According to Mr. Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of the Special Forces in Marawi, rebel-controlled areas are gradually shrinking, and there are signs that they have been weakened due to lack of food and ammunition.
The Philippine army has repeatedly promised to regain control of Marawi city, but it seems they have underestimated the strength of the Maute rebels.
Many bodies are believed to still be scattered in the ruins of this city.
Concerns have increased as the fighting has dragged on, suggesting that IS’s extremist ideology may have taken deeper roots in the South than previously predicted.
General Eduardo Ano, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the Maute rebels had lost many defensive positions in the past week, most importantly the police headquarters and the mosque in the city center.
`The situation is that the internal cannot leave, the external cannot enter. If they want to go to heaven as they have announced, we will help them satisfy their wish,` General Ano said.
Challenge for the future
Smoke rises after the Philippine military’s airstrike on the lair of a pro-IS terrorist group in Marawi.
Fighting in Marawi City has become the biggest security crisis for President Rodrigo Duterte.
According to experts, the possibility of an alliance between two rebel groups from different regions of the island of Mindanao cannot be ruled out – the emerging group Maute and the old group Abu Sayyaf has been established.
The military says the key to solving the problem is to capture or kill the leaders, who are believed to be hiding in the war zone.
President Duterte explained that the war lasted so long because the government wanted to ensure the safety of the hostages, and they could not bomb a mosque – where rebel leaders were hiding.
Former congressman Rodolfo Biazon, who once held a military advisory position, said that after retaking Marawi city, the government needs to focus less on military solutions and try to focus on popular mobilization measures.
Do Anh
Synthetic