Thousands of civilians hoping to flee fighting in the besieged Philippines city of Marawi remained trapped on Sunday after a four-hour truce to evacuate residents was disrupted by gunfire.
Only 134 were freed on Sunday, less than on previous days, despite government hopes that more than 1,000 would be able to leave a city battered by 13 days of intense fighting.
President Rodrigo Duterte predicted the siege would be over within days despite fierce resistance by militants aligned with Islamic State (IS) in the dense urban heart of the city on the southern island of Mindanao.
"This will be over in about three more days," Duterte said on Saturday after visiting a hospital in Cagayan de Oro where wounded soldiers were being treated. "I will not hesitate to use every power available."
About 400 local militants reinforced by about 40 foreign fighters stormed Marawi on May 23, using sophisticated battlefield tactics to seize large swathes of the lakeside city.
They have been pushed back to the city centre by Philippines forces over the past week after around 4,000 ground troops moved in, bolstered by helicopters and aircraft deploying rockets and bombs.
Many residents have told Reuters that the air strikes caused extensive property damage and dozens of civilian deaths. Authorities raised the civilian death toll from 20 to 38 on Sunday - but said all those deaths were caused by militants.
A presidential spokesman said 120 militants had died, along with 38 government forces. Duterte said the use of air power had been restrained so far.
"I can end this war in 24 hours," he said. "All I have to do is to bomb the whole place and level it to the ground."
Duterte has asked the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an Islamic separatist movement based on Mindanao, to help negotiate a peace deal with the militants, who are predominantly drawn from the Maute Group based in and around Marawi.
While touring a Japanese warship docked at a former U.S. navy base on Sunday, Duterte said he had accepted the offer of a second Muslim guerrilla group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996, to send 2,000 fighters to battle the IS-linked militants.
Mindanao has a large Muslim population in an otherwise predominantly Roman Catholic country and has been destabilised by separatist insurgencies for decades.
MILF cadres organised Sunday's ceasefire, which was to run from 8 a.m. until noon local time. They roamed the streets with loudspeakers urging residents to leave.
But by 9 a.m., gunfire had broken out, apparently deterring residents from joining a mass exodus.
Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra told reporters on Sunday morning he was expecting "more or less 1,000 plus to be rescued today". In the end, 134 were evacuated, less than previous days when there were no ceasefires. About 2,000 civilians remain in the city.
Irene Santiago, appointed by Duterte to organise the "peace corridor", said the effort had been a success as the fighting was several km (miles) away from where the evacuation occurred.
She said negotiations were continuing with the Maute for another temporary ceasefire on Monday.
Reuters
Sun Jun 04 2017
Rescue teams wait at a police checkpoint after gun battles broke a ceasefire and prevented a mass evacuation of civilians in Marawi City, Philippines June 4, 2017. REUTERS
VOP akan diselesaikan dalam tempoh sebulan - Ahmad
Pelaksanaan Syarat Perubahan Harga (VOP) susulan penyasaran subsidi diesel dijangka diselesaikan dalam tempoh sebulan lagi, kata Timbalan Menteri Kerja Raya Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
Industri minyak sawit disaran guna semula sisa untuk bahan api penerbangan mampan - Liew
Industri minyak sawit perlu mengkaji penggunaan semula sisa sebagai stok suapan penting untuk bahan api penerbangan mampan (SAF), di luar penggunaan tradisional minyak sawit.
SDG: UTP lahir pelajar berkemahiran, tinggi tanggungjawab sosial
UTP berhasrat mendidik pelajar bukan sahaja untuk mahir dalam aspek teknikal tetapi juga untuk menjadi warganegara yang bertanggungjawab.
MAA semak semula unjuran jualan kenderaan 2024 kepada 765,000 unit
Persatuan Automotif Malaysia (MAA) telah menyemak semula unjuran jualan kenderaan bermotor baharu bagi 2024 kepada 765,000 unit daripada anggaran sebelumnya sebanyak 740,000 unit.
RUU 355: Pindaan perlu untuk praktikaliti, keadilan
Apa sahaja pindaan terhadap akta itu perlu berjalan selari dengan persediaan mereka yang bertanggungjawab melaksanakannya.
Rasionalisasi RON95 dijangka beri impak lebih besar kepada PKS - SAMENTA
SAMENTA menjangkakan rasionalisasi RON95 akan memberi impak yang lebih besar kepada perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (PKS) berbanding pelarasan subsidi diesel.
Malaysia sasar pengeluaran 40 peratus sektor akuakultur menjelang 2030
Malaysia menyasarkan pengeluaran 40 peratus hasil sektor akuakultur menjelang 2030 dalam usaha membantu mengimbangi keperluan perikanan negara.
10 Berita Pilihan - (16 Julai 2024
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
PAC beri tempoh tiga bulan kepada HRD Corp
Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara (PAC) memberi tempoh tiga bulan kepada Perbadanan Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (HRD Corp) untuk mengemukakan laporan tindakan susulan terhadap syor jawatankuasa itu.
Kylian Mbappe tandatangan kontrak dengan Real Madrid
Bintang bola sepak Perancis Kylian Mbappe menandatangani kontrak selama lima tahun dengan kelab Sepanyol Real Madrid pada Selasa.