GPH, MILF working for another rescue operation for remaining 2,000 trapped civilians in Marawi

MARAWI CITY – Peacekeepers from the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are working for another truce between the military and the militant Maute group to allow rescue of at least 2, 000 trapped civilians in the conflict zone in Marawi City.

“We are aiming to go farther and get as many [trapped civilians] as we can,” Dickson Hermoso, assistance secretary of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, who is also the focal of the government in the joint ‘Peace Corridor” initiative

“Now priority of the evacuation efforts is the sick, wounded, children, women, and the elderly,” he added.

This is the second attempt of the government and the MILF through its Joint Coordinating, Monitoring and Assistance Centre (JCMAC) to free remaining trapped civilians since the fighting erupted on May 23.

On Sunday, the JMAC was able to rescue 134 civilians after the parties were able to convince the military and the Maute group for a four-hour ceasefire to allow the rescue operations.

The “Peace Corridor” was established in the three-kilometer Banggulo Bridge to the Quezon Avenue inside the conflict zone.

Despite of the ceasefire agreement, sporadic shots were fired by the Maute killing two soldiers during the rescue operation.

To date, the JCMAC is still assessing the situation on how to effectively carryout another rescue attempt.

On Wednesday, the JMAC also opened the 73-kilometer route that starts from the town of Malabang to Marawi city as an alternative route to facilitate the delivery of the emergency relief assistance.

“The second peace corridor is now open in Lanao del Sur. The first corridor was to rescue trapped civilians. Yesterday, we opened the peace corridor between Malabang area to Marawi City. Unknown to many, this route has been unsafe and insecure, food and other humanitarian aid have not been able to pass through,” Irene Santiago, the chair of the government implementing panel, said during a press briefing on Thursday.

On Thursday, members of the JCMAC that includes military, police, and MILF secured the route as relief goods from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART), Bangsamoro Humanitarian Assistance (UBHA), MILF’s Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) are being delivered to evacuation sites.

The peacekeepers from the government and the MILF also secured the deployment of medical doctors and supplies of the International Committee on the Red Cross in Tamparan, Lanao del Sur.

“We were able to establish the JCMAC to open a mobility corridor from Malabang to the municipalities along the Lake Lanao because there are so many evacuees affected by the conflict here in Marawi that runs towards the southern part of the province,” Hermoso said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has earlier approved the establishment of the “Peace Corridor” after the top officials of the MILF has offered its assistance to address the humanitarian crisis following the armed conflict in Marawi.

Both sides are using its 12-year old peace mechanisms to carry out the peace corridor.