By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Philippine security forces will not meet deadline set by the country’s defense chief and martial law administrator Delfin Lorenzana to completely retake Marawi City from the Daesh-linked group.
“Based on reports we are getting, I don’t think we can meet the deadline today (June 2)… ,” Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said in a news briefing Friday.
Padilla said that the militants are still occupying commercial buildings as their “defensible enemy lairs” and use mosques as “sniper nests” to limit the movements of government forces.
The military spokesman stressed that the use of human shields by the terrorists made it difficult for the soldiers to neutralize the enemy forces.
He gave an assurance that the armed forces’ ammunition supply will never run out and that they are determined to restore peace to the “peace-loving community of Marawi”.
Ground commanders in Marawi have continued their airstrikes despite the friendly fire incident that killed 10 soldiers on Wednesday.
“We continue to apply commensurate military power on these existing threats and pockets of resistance and will continue to do so including the use of airstrike," Padilla added.
After eleven days of fighting, the death toll reached 175 -- Maute militants at 120, civilians at 19 and government forces at 36.