AFTER missing several deadlines to clear Marawi City of Maute group terrorists, the military on Wednesday admitted that it may take some time to rid the war-torn city of extremist groups.
“For now, we will not set deadlines,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Restituto Padilla. “We will ensure that we will be able to clear [Marawi City] of any armed element that still exists, and it may take some time.”
The military also condemned calls by the Islamic State for its followers to launch more attacks in the Philippines and other countries during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
“We are calling for the whole country to unite and not let this happen,” Padilla said. “We see the violence happening right now in Marawi. If they will be doing this [to other parts of the country], we need to really watch their movement closely.”
In a briefing in Malacañang, Padilla admitted that the military was having problems with urban warfare, where civilians are trapped in the conflict area and may be used by the terrorists as human shields.
“Our rules of engagement are very different in urban terrain. We have to be very careful, we have to be very judicious, we have to be very deliberate so as to avoid [taking] innocent lives,” he added.
“And this is where the slow process of liberating Marawi is currently happening. Of the 96 barangays of Marawi, four remain problematic areas where forces of the Maute… group still remain,” Padilla said.
Another hindrance is that the terrorists were using Islamic schools and mosques as staging areas and safe havens.
Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez said Tuesday that some 10 barangays were still affected by the conflict that has entered its third week.
On Wednesday, Padilla said four or five barangays was the more accurate assessment.
Padilla also said the military would not bomb mosques in the ongoing effort to neutralize the Maute group terrorists.
“The Armed Forces leadership is firm in its commitment to use other options that would flush out this Maute… group from these places of worship that they have converted into machine gun and sniper nests, defensive positions, and arsenals for their war activities,” he added.
Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesperson of the 1st Infantry Division, earlier said Tuesday that as long as terrorists use mosques as snipers’ nest, the mosques would be targeted in order to save lives.
Padilla, however, noted that the military may hit the high areas of mosques if the terrorists use them for snipers.
“If the enemy uses the parapets of the mosque as sniper lairs, we may hit those areas alone but we will not bomb the mosque itself,” the military spokesman said.