By: Francis T. Wakefeld
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said yesterday that 411 Maute Group members have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Marawi City.
In a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, AFP Public Affairs Office chief Marine Col. Edgard Arevalo said 97 security forces have been killed while 852 soldiers and policemen were wounded in Marawi. One soldier remains missing.
Arevalo said the 852 security forces were wounded in the course of the fighting and more than half of them have returned to the battlefield.
“Iyung 852 na iyun, mahigit sa kalahati niyan nandurun na sa ano, nandun na sa, bumalik na sa frontline. At saka binibilang natin kahit tamaan ka lang ng splinter, tamaan ka ng shrapnel. Ini-include na natin as battle casualty,” Arevalo said.
“Ganun ang pagbibilang natin kaya meron tayong ganung karaming bilang but the point is hindi naman lahat ’yun seryoso,” Arevalo said.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has denied claims by human rights groups that massive human rights violations have been committed by government forces in Mindanao.
Lorenzana encouraged the alleged victims of human rights violations and the human rights groups to present evidence and file charges in court.