More troops will be deployed to Marawi city in southern Philippines, to engage in the fight to liberate the city from the Maute Group, a Philippine military official said.
Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez told a press conference in Marawi city on September 25 that more forces will come in, explaining that some gaps have been identified, especially in the Lanao lake.
However, he refused to disclose the number of personnel who will be sent to fight the Maute Group and when they will be arriving in the city.
Galvez said soldiers are well-distributed in the city to ensure that the Maute members will not slip out of the battle zone.
He predicted that the fight would not take another month, estimating there are about 60 to 80 Maute members still in the main battle area together with about 45 to 50 hostages.
On September 18, Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said only an area of about 10 hectares needs to be cleared.
The armed conflict, which broke out on May 23, has resulted in the death of 800 people and forced more than 500,000 others to evacuate.
Given this, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte announced the extension of martial law in Mindanao province until the end of this year so that law enforcement forces can wipe all terrorists out of the country’s southern region.-VNA
Philippine military to send more soldiers to Marawi
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