(UPDATE) AFP says doing best to end Marawi fighting

July 12, 2017

The Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP) assures the military is doing its best to finish the rebellion in Marawi amid the pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte he needs 10-15 days to end the siege in the city. “The 15 days is a period within which the president hopes the crisis in Marawi to end,” Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP public affairs chief said Wednesday. "The AFP will do its best, as it has been giving its level best, to crush the rebellion of the Maute-ISIS Group,” he added. In his speech at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati City, Duterte said he will try to visit the city before the conflict will end which he thinks may finish in 10 to 15 days. Arevalo noted that Duterte  "is aware of the complexities of the ongoing operations; that we are continuously gaining ground in the main battle area." "We will work along the guidance of the President. We will do our level best to clear the portions of the four remaining barangays within the period," Arevalo noted. Arevalo said based on their latest record the number of terrorists killed in the Marawi City conflict has reached 389 while government fatalities remain at 90. (Robina Asido/DMS)