- Title: Military offensive against Islamic militants continue in southern Philippine city
- Date: 27th May 2017
- Summary: MARAWI CITY, PHILIPPINES (MAY 27, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SMOKE COMING FROM ESTABLISHMENTS VARIOUS OF EVACUEES WALKING ON ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) EVACUEE, RAJAH SUMIYA MAGUMPARA, SAYING: "We got out because we're scared of the ISIS (Islamic State). We have to leave so we can get help from the government. We don't have any choice." VARIOUS OF MILITARY HELICOPTER FLYING ARMED PERSONNEL CARRIERS DRIVING ON ROAD VARIOUS OF SMOKE COMING FROM ESTABLISHMENTS PHILIPPINE WESTERN MINDANAO MILITARY CHIEF CARLITO GALVEZ HOLDING NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English/Filipino) PHILIPPINE WESTERN MINDANAO MILITARY CHIEF, CARLITO GALVEZ, SAYING: "The main purpose of the offensive is to suppress the lawlessness and to maintain normalcy in Marawi so that our people here in Marawi, our countrymen, can return, especially by Ramadan. So, we are using maximum power to really make them withdraw so we can normalize the situation." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English/Filipino) PHILIPPINE WESTERN MINDANAO MILITARY CHIEF, CARLITO GALVEZ, SAYING: "I told you there are pockets, they have places to hide. So what we're doing, especially here in what we call mountain environment, what we call rural environment, it's clearing block by block. So if it's tedious, we are sorry because it's really that slow and it will entail casualties if we do something else." CAMERAMEN FILMING NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English/Filipino) WESTERN MINDANAO MILITARY CHIEF, CARLITO GALVEZ, SAYING: "We saw there are still pockets. What they did is take over government establishments, so what we're doing now is recover those government establishments and establish normalcy here." GALVEZ ENDING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 10th June 2017 08:11
- Keywords: evacuation offensive Islamic militants military
- Location: MARAWI CITY, PHILIPPINES
- City: MARAWI CITY, PHILIPPINES
- Country: Philippines
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies
- Reuters ID: LVA0016IM4CW5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Security forces continued an offensive to recapture parts of a southern Philippine city held by Islamic militants on Saturday (May 27).
The violent siege at Marawi City by Islamic State-linked Maute group has left 46 people, 11 security forces and 31 rebels dead, since the fighting began on Tuesday (May 23), and has prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law on the whole Mindanao island.
Thousands have fled Marawi and sought temporary shelter at military encampments or nearby provinces due to the ongoing violence. There were reports of militants were torching buildings and using civilians as hostages, the military said.
Philippine Western Mindanao military chief Carlito Galvez said they have taken offensive positions to secure the city and neutralize the threat as soon as possible. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
