A brief pause in Marawi bloodshed as Philippine troops declare Islamic holiday truce
The Eid ul-Fitr feast ends the fasting month of Ramadan when observant Muslims do not drink or eat between dawn and nightfall
Fighting between government forces and Islamist rebels holed up in the heart of a southern Philippine town eased on Sunday as the military sought to enforce a temporary truce to mark the Eid ul-Fitr Islamic holiday.
Small skirmishes took place early in the day in parts of Marawi City, where fighters loyal to Islamic State were clinging on for a fifth week, as rebel snipers fired on positions held by troops who declared a unilateral, eight-hour halt on offensives until early in the afternoon.
Muslims attended prayers at a Marawi mosque in an emotional gathering marred by the violence that has displaced some 246,000 people, and killed more than 350 people, most of them rebels, and about 69 members of the security forces.
Twenty-six civilians have been killed but officials believe scores of bodies of residents may still be in the heart of a conflict zone battered for weeks by air strikes and artillery bombardments.
“This is supposed to a day of happiness,” said Imam Aleem Ansari Abdul Malik, who led Sunday’s prayers.