MARAWI CITY, Philippines // American special forces have joined the battle to crush extremist militants in a southern Philippines town, as government forces struggled to make headway and 13 marines were killed in intense urban fighting.
The Philippines military said the United States was providing technical assistance to end the siege of Marawi City by fighters allied to ISIL, but it had no boots on the ground. The siege is now in its third week,
“They are not fighting. They are just providing technical support,” military spokesman Lt Col Jo-Ar Herrera said.
The US embassy confirmed it had offered support, at the request of the Philippines government, but gave no details.
A US P3 Orion surveillance plane was seen flying over the town on Friday. The cooperation between the longtime allies is significant because Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who came to power a year ago, has taken a hostile stance towards Washington and has vowed to eject US military trainers and advisers from his country.
The seizure of Marawi City on May 23 has alarmed South-East Asian nations, who fear that ISIL, facing setbacks in Syria and Iraq, is establishing a stronghold on the Philippine island of Mindanao that could threaten the whole region.
About 40 foreigners have fought alongside the Philippine militants in Marawi, most of them from Indonesia and Malaysia, though some came from the Middle East.
The Philippines military suffered its biggest one-day loss on Friday when 13 marines conducting clearing operations died after an “intense” house-to-house firefight during which they encountered improvised explosive devices and were attacked by rocket-propelled grenades.
The deaths took the number of security forces killed in Marawi to 58. At least 20 civilians and more than 100 rebel fighters have also been killed in the fighting.
At least 200 militants remain in a corner of the town. An estimated 500 to 1,000 civilians are trapped there, some being held as human shields, while others are hiding in their homes with no access to running water, electricity or food.
The military said it was making headway in the town but was proceeding carefully so as not to destroy mosques where some of the militants had taken up positions.
“We give premium to the mosques, because this is very symbolic to our Muslim brothers,” Lt Col Herrera said.
The Philippines is predominantly Christian, but Mindanao has a significant population of Muslims and Marawi City is overwhelmingly Muslim.
One of the main extremist factions dug in around the heart of the city is the Maute group, a relative newcomer amid the throng of insurgents, separatists and bandits on Mindanao.
Lt Col Herrera said the military was “validating” reports that the two Maute brothers who founded the group had been killed.
“We are still awaiting confirmation,” he said. “We are still validating those reports but there are strong indications.”
Maute joined forces with Isnilon Hapilon, who was last year proclaimed by ISIL as its South-east Asia “emir”. Military officials believe Hapilon is still in the town.
The military has said it is aiming to end the siege by Monday, June 12, which the Philippines’ independence day.
* Reuters
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Company%20Profile
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