Civilians in Marawi in desperate need of aid as Philippine authorities try to negotiate ceasefire with militants
Dozens of people made a daring dash for safety on Saturday, including one of Marawi’s most respected politicians who had hidden 71 Christians in his home and led 144 people through downtown streets strewn with rotting corpses
Philippine authorities said on Sunday they were trying to negotiate a ceasefire in a war-torn southern city to rescue up to 2,000 civilians trapped in areas held by Islamist militants for nearly two weeks.
Government forces have bombarded Marawi with air strikes and waged fierce street-to-street battles with hundreds of gunmen since they began a rampage through residential areas waving the black flags of Islamic State (IS).
Authorities said on Sunday they had finally been able to negotiate a ceasefire with the militants to allow those trapped to be released, although continued fighting throughout the morning meant it was not put into place as hoped.
“There are 2,000 people who need immediate help [after] 13 days without food,” said Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesman for the provincial crisis management committee. “We do not know if the ceasefire has been breached.”
Scores of people made a daring dash for safety on Saturday, including one of Marawi’s most respected politicians who had hidden 71 Christians in his home and led 144 people through downtown streets strewn with rotting corpses.
The militants behind the violence in Marawi mostly belong to a local group called the Maute and the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang which had pledged allegiance to IS and rejected official peace talks.