Philippine Muslim leaders meet militant leader during Marawi truce

More civilians rescued from conflict zone as eight Muslim leaders held talks with Abdullah Maute, whose fighters attacked the town on May 23.

Philippine troops escort residents rescued from Marawi city, on the southern island of Mindanao, during an eight-hour ceasefire on June 25, 2017. Ted Aljibe / PA / AFP

MARAWI CITY // Philippine emissaries met on Sunday with a leader of a militant group loyal to ISIL, officials said, taking advantage of a short truce in the battle for a southern city occupied by militants for more than a month.

Eight Muslim leaders entered the conflict zone in the heart of Marawi City alongside rescue teams. It was not immediately clear what was discussed with Abdullah Maute, one of two brothers in charge of the Islamist militant group named after them.

Retired general Dickson Hermoso, who coordinates efforts to free trapped civilians, said a unilateral eight-hour truce by the army to mark Eid Al Fitr was extended to enable the talks, details of which he withheld to avoid jeopardising chances for dialogue.

“We need to balance this because this is very precarious,” said Gen Hermoso.

Daily air strikes on Marawi were halted on Sunday but small skirmishes took place as militant snipers fired intermittently on positions held by troops.

Gen Hermoso said the Maute group released some women and children on Sunday but that the emissaries had come under fire briefly from snipers.

“We have only established a foothold with the Maute,” he said. “We hope both sides will again grant us the respite.”

On Saturday, the military said Abdullah Maute had fled from the town and was no longer in the fight. Though they have no solid evidence, the authorities believe Abdullah’s brother, Omarkhayam, was among three of seven Maute brothers killed.

A source familiar with Sunday’s meeting said the emissaries were from Marawi and were only granted access to Maute because they were of the same “Maranao” clan.

The seizure of Marawi has caused the biggest internal security crisis in decades for the Philippines, and sparked the realisation that the long-feared arrival of ISIL to the country could be a reality.

Rescue teams on Sunday tried to reach trapped civilians and recover the bodies of dead residents in the heart of a city battered for weeks by clashes, air strikes and artillery shelling.

Military spokesman Jo-Ar Herrera said troops had not resumed operations after the truce and were holding defensive positions.

“We have reports there were around five people who came out from ground zero,” said Mr Herrera.

“We’re very confident we can rescue more.”

Muslims attended prayers at a Marawi mosque in an emotional gathering.

“This is supposed to [be] a day of happiness,” said Imam Aleem Ansari Abdul Malik, who led the prayers.

“Families should be together but they were torn apart.”

The violence has displaced some 246,000 people, and killed more than 350. Most of the dead confirmed so far have been militants, but this toll also includes about 69 members of the security forces and 26 civilians. Officials believe many more civilians could be dead.

The imam at the Marawi mosque reminded Muslims to shun the advances of radical groups.

“This is just a small fire, do not allow the flames to go bigger by joining extremists,” he said.

* Reuters