Villagers cross a bridge as government troops arrive to secure their community in the outskirts of Marawi city Tuesday, May 30, 2017 in southern Philippines. Philippine forces pressed their offensive to drive out militants linked to the Islamic State group after days of fighting left corpses in the streets and hundreds of civilians begging for rescue from a besieged southern city of Marawi. The bridge was the scene last week when villagers thwarted an attempt by Muslim militants to blow it up.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
The Philippine government on Monday said that while the “humanitarian ceasefire” in Marawi City allowed security forces to rescue hundreds of civilians, it resulted in injuries to two soldiers.
READ: AFP declares 4-hour ‘humanitarian ceasefire’ in Marawi
“We are very happy with the results of the 4-hour humanitarian pause that was initiated yesterday from 8 o’clock to 12 noon. However, it is saddening to note that despite the efforts of third party facilitators, there were violations committed by these criminals in the area,” Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said during a “Mindanao Hour” briefing in Malacañang.
“They caused the wounding of two of our men who were escorting the humanitarians into the area,” he said.
Padilla added that a civilian was also hit by a sniper from the Maute group on Saturday.
“So these are proof and testament to the disregard for civilian lives by these criminal elements,” he said.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the four-hour “humanitarian pause” resulted in the rescue of 179 civilians while 95 people were rescued at around 6 a.m. in the Dansalan area.
“Troops continue to make headway into inner areas of the city, and compounding developments remains to be the use of civilians as human shields and madrazas and mosques as staging areas,” he said.
Padilla said the military continues to work closely with other groups in facilitating “the entry of humanitarian help and assistance to areas where we have displaced persons and evacuees.”
“The operations on the ground will continue relentlessly. As was pointed out repeatedly in previous days, we are determined to end this problem as soon as possible, and cause the return of Marawi back to its citizens within this period especially Ramadan,” he said.
The humanitarian ceasefire was led by government implementing peace panel chairperson Irene Santiago and involved the participation of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front.
Earlier, Inquirer reported that the peace corridor allowed members of the MILF to lead civilians out of the affected areas. However, an elderly woman was killed by a sniper from the Maute group. JE/rga
READ: Sniper fire mars Marawi evacuation
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