The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday said the government troops would not bomb mosques in Marawi City despite being used as logistics hubs and snipers’ nest of the Maute terrorists.
Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, military spokesperson, quoted AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año, saying that armed forces would use other options to wipe out the terrorists in the city.
“We categorically state that we have not bombed and will not bomb mosque in Marawi,” Padilla said, quoting Año.
“The Armed Forces leadership is firm in its commitment to use other options that would flush out this Maute/Daesh-inspired group from these places of worship that they have converted into machine gun and sniper nest, defensive position, and arsenals for their war activities,” he added, still quoting Año.
Año assured “our Muslim brothers and Islamic faithfuls that it will not go down to the level of these terrorists who desecrate places of worship to lure government security forces into responding to their violent activities in a similar manner.”
“We are confident that through other options available to the Armed Forces, we will be able to retake the remaining portion of Marawi occupied by these terrorists, neutralize the remaining members who continue to hold out and begin the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the city,” he said.
Padilla said only four barangays (villages) in Marawi City remained “problematic.”
“Of the 96 barangays of Marawi, four remain to be problematic areas where forces of the Maute/ISIS-inspired or Daesh-inspired group still remains,” he said.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said “clearing operations continue to be positive” in Marawi City.
“Troops continue to gain important foothold into the inner areas of terrorist-held areas,” he said.
“Enemy resistance continues to dwindle and enemy-held areas are getting smaller as troops advance,” he said.
He said that “compounding development remains to be the use of civilians as human shields and madrasahs and mosques as staging areas and safe havens.” JE