Marawi crisis death toll rises to 95

May 28, 2017

The death toll in the Marawi crisis has reached 95 as the Armed Forces of the Philippines has continued with "precision airstrikes and artillery fire" to immediately resolve the problem brought by the Maute Terror Group in southern Philippines. As of Sunday afternoon, AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr. said of the total fatalities in Marawi City, 61 were from the Maute militants - 42 with body count and 19 were confirmed killed through eyewitness accounts. On the other hand, 15 government security forces, including 11 soldiers and four policemen, were also killed. Padilla said 19 civilians perished, eight of them were discovered Saturday night outside the Mindanao State University, validating "series of reports of atrocities committed by the militants." The latest eight fatalities included four males, three females and a child. The AFP spokesman said government troopers also rescued 124 trapped civilian residents since the start of the operations on May 23. He also said 28 firearms were recovered during the last 24 hours of military operations. "Precision airstrikes and artillery fire will likewise continue at specific targets to hasten the clearing," Padilla said. He said government forces are working overtime to bring back peace in Marawi City as he urged the public, especially those who are in the affected areas, for full cooperation. "Our forces are working overtime to hasten the restoration of the rule of law and Marawi's return to normalcy. We can only do this if we have the full cooperation of our citizens in these affected areas," he said. "We count on everyone to unite as one nation and do their patriotic duty for the restoration of peace in our country," he added. He also belied reports of checkpoints being conducted by uniformed personnel without badges or identification. He said checkpoints followed strict protocols and they also ordered their troops to verify and deal with this incident. "These reports if true, may be of unauthorized armed elements and should be discretely documented and reported," Padilla said. ​As of Sunday​​, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Crisis Management Committee has recorded a total of 7,088 families or 42,142 individuals displaced due to the ongoing firefight in Marawi. In the latest report, 6,288 families or 30,602 individuals were in 24 evacuation centers and 2,308 families or 11,540 individuals were home-based, while 2,279 individuals were still stranded in 25 barangays. President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the whole Mindanao under martial law due to the Marawi crisis. (Ella Dionisio/DMS)