MILITARY authorities have momentarily stopped its operations against the Maute-ISIS group Tuesday night to allow trapped Lanao del Sur residents to evacuate to safety.
Brigadier General Jose Maria Cuerpo II, commander of the Army 103rd Infantry Division said the ceasefire was implemented Tuesday night to allow around 100 families trapped in the fighting to be evacuated to Barangay Madaya Poblacion, Maguing town in Lanao del Sur.
But Maguing town Mayor Mahad Molok said there were more evacuees than they have expected.
Molok said the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management office registered 1,217 families who fled their homes and sought refuge in the town centers and houses of relatives as of Wednesday morning, March 2, as soon as the fighting stopped.
He said the local government is taking care of 50 families who have taken shelter in the town center in Barangay Madaya Poblacion.
“We are expecting helping hands from the province and BARMM (Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao) today,” Molok said.
Supported by Air Force FA50 jets and the newly acquired A-29 Super Tucano planes, the army launched operations against suspected Maute-ISIS militants in Maguing, Lanao del Sur Tuesday.
The local government of Maguing on Tuesday has asked the Army for a ceasefire to allow its responders to evacuate the residents trapped in Barangay Runggayan to the town poblacion.
Cuerpo said three militants were killed as army troops attacked the suspected Maute-ISIS camp in the hinterlands Barangay Ilalag, Maguing town.
The government suffered one soldier killed in action while four others were wounded.
Cuerpo said they have recovered six firearms including two crew-served caliber 50 machineguns, several hundred rounds of ammunition, and several ISIS black flags.
He said they also found evidence that the Maute-ISIS militants led by Farahuding Hadji Satar alias Abu Bakar or Abu Zacaria have merged with the remnants of the Dawlah Islamiya group from Maguindanao.
“We have pictures and documents to prove that they have merged into one group and came to this place to train,” Cuerpo said.
Daulah Islamiyah is the local name of the Islamic State (IS), whose membership comprises fighters from several Filipino militant factions, including the Maute Group fighting out in Lanao del Sur.
In May 2017, Maute Group members and other pro-IS militants launched a siege of Marawi, triggering a battle with government forces that lasted five months.
As many as 1,200 militants, troops, and civilians were killed before the military regained control of Marawi City.
