The siege of Marawi (Filipino: Pagkubkob sa Marawi), also known as the Marawi crisis (Krisis sa Marawi) and the Battle of Marawi (Labanan sa Marawi), was a five-month-long armed conflict in Marawi, Philippines, that started on May 23, 2017, between Philippine government security forces against militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS), including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Salafi jihadist groups. The battle also became the longest urban battle in the modern history of the Philippines.
According to the Philippine government, the clashes began during an offensive in Marawi to capture Isnilon Hapilon, the leader of the Islamic State's affiliate Abu Sayyaf group, after receiving reports that Hapilon was in the city, possibly to meet with militants of the Maute group. A deadly firefight erupted when Hapilon's forces opened fire on the combined army and police teams and called for reinforcements from the Maute group, an armed group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and which is believed to be responsible for the 2016 Davao City bombing, according to military spokesmen.
Maute group militants attacked Camp Ranao and occupied several buildings in the city, including Marawi City Hall, Mindanao State University, a hospital and the city jail. They also occupied the main street and set fire to Saint Mary's Cathedral, Ninoy Aquino School and Dansalan College, run by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). The militants also took a priest and several churchgoers hostage.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines stated that some of the terrorists were immigrants in the Philippines who had been in the country for a long time, offering support to the Maute group in Marawi. Their main objective was to raise the jihadist flag of the ISIL at the Lanao del Sur Provincial Capitol and declare a wilayat or provincial IS territory in Lanao del Sur.
On October 17, 2017, the day after the deaths of militant leaders Omar Maute and Isnilon Hapilon, Philippine president Duterte declared that Marawi was "liberated from terrorist influence". On October 23, Delfin Lorenzana, the Philippine Defense Secretary announced that the five-month battle against the terrorists in Marawi had ended.
Background
The Battle of Marawi was a consequence of the Philippines' long struggle against terrorism, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States, against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) then linked with al-Qaeda and now with the Islamic State. But the Battle of Marawi has been associated with the Maute group being its stronghold. The Maute Group had established a stronghold in Lanao del Sur since February 2016 and was blamed for the 2016 Davao City bombing and two attacks in Butig, Lanao del Sur, a town located south of Marawi, in 2016. Since the militant group's founding in 2013, the Philippine government has downplayed the threat of IS in the Philippines. Following the February 2016 Butig clash with the Maute Group, then-President Benigno Aquino III discounted the possibility of the Islamic State's presence in the country. He said that those behind the attack were just mercenaries wanting to be recognized by the Middle East-based terror group.
The Abu Sayyaf group, blamed for deadly bombings and kidnappings in the past, had also pledged allegiance to the IS in the summer of 2014. One of its leaders, Isnilon Hapilon, was listed as among the world's most wanted terrorists by the US State Department with a reward of up to US$5 million for his capture. Following the abduction and subsequent beheading of Canadian businessman John Ridsdel in April 2016, Aquino disclosed that he had received death threats from the jihadist group, and that the Abu Sayyaf also plotted to kidnap his sister Kris, and Manny Pacquiao. Aquino also identified Hapilon behind attempts to convert and recruit inmates at the New Bilibid Prison to their cause, and embark on a bombing campaign in Metro Manila, which he said was "part of their effort to gain favor with ISIS."
In November 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed the Maute Group's affiliation with IS and he even revealed that the Siege of Marawi was also related to narcoterrorism. But the Philippine military maintained that IS had not established links with militants in the Philippines. Amidst fierce fighting in Butig on November 30, 2016, Duterte, in a command briefing in Lanao del Sur, warned the Maute group: "I do not want a fight with you. I don't want us killing each other but please, do not force my hand. I cannot be forever traveling here every month just to talk, and when I turn around, there's killing again. I do not want to mention anything, but please do not force my hand into it."
On December 2, 2016, as the military regained control of Butig, the retreating Maute fighters reportedly left a note threatening to behead Duterte and the military. On December 12, 2016, in a speech before the Wallace Business Forum Dinner, Duterte dared the Maute Group to attack Marawi, stating: "Because they (the Maute Group) threatened to go down from the mountains to burn down Marawi? Go ahead, be my guest. We will wait for you there. No problem."
From April to May 2017, Abu Sayyaf fought in clashes with Philippine security forces in Bohol which resulted in the deaths of three soldiers, a policeman while ten militants were eliminated.
Prelude to the battle
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) stated that the fighting in Marawi was due to a raid conducted by the military in coordination with the Philippine National Police, contrary to earlier reports that the clash was initiated by the militant groups. Rolando Joselito Bautista, commanding general of the Philippine Army's 1st Infantry Division, stated that they had received reports of impending activity two or three weeks ahead of time. As the combined military and local police team conducted zoning in Marawi to validate the information that suspicious personalities including Omar Maute and Abdullah Maute were consolidating in the area, their team instead spotted Isnilon Hapilon. According to the AFP, Hapilon had been appointed as "emir" of the IS forces in the Philippines and was consolidating his group with the Maute and other terrorist groups. After residents of Marawi reported the presence of an armed group within their locale and after the AFP verified the information, the AFP launched a "surgical operation" in order to capture Hapilon, only to stumble into an entire city of armed men.
Timeline (2017)
May
May 23
Firefights between government forces and militants began at approximately 2:00 PM. The Peace and Conflict Journalism Network reported that the clash occurred in the Basak Malutlut area of the city as Hapilon's forces called for reinforcements from the Maute group to prevent him from being arrested. Maute fighters occupied the Amai Pakpak Hospital and ordered PhilHealth employees out of the facility. The fighters allegedly replaced the Philippine flag hoisted in the hospital with the Black Standard used by the Islamic State group. A staff member of the hospital later denied that this happened.
The 103rd Brigade of the Philippine Army stationed at Camp Ranao was also attacked by at least 500 Maute militants. A number of militants were then seen waving their ISIS black flags as they roamed the streets of Marawi.
The whole city was put on lockdown as several buildings and houses were set ablaze by members of the Maute group. Dozens of gunmen occupied the Marawi City Hall as 107 inmates escaped from the Marawi City Jail and the Malabang District Jail 39 after the Maute attacks. Power and communication lines were also shut down due to the continued hostilities. Roads leading to Marawi were blocked by both government security forces and Maute militants. Civilians were reported to have been abducted by the Maute, including a priest, Father Chito Suganob and several parishioners of the Cathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians as the group demanded that the government stop its offensive against them.
The clashes sparked a mass evacuation of the city with residents fleeing by the thousands, causing traffic congestion on the highway to Iligan and Cagayan de Oro. At least eleven civilians were killed in the first hours of the fighting, two of which the Lanao del Sur Provincial Disaster Office identified as ambulance drivers who were stopped by militants while responding to an emergency call. Nine of them were on board a truck when they were stopped by militants at a checkpoint and shot dead with their hands tied. A police officer was also reported to have been beheaded by the militants.
May 24
Additional government forces arrived at Laguindingan Airport as the military regained control of the Amai Pakpak Hospital. 120 civilians used as a human shield by the Maute group were rescued from the hospital. The military had also recaptured the city hall and the Mindanao State University.
May 25
Fresh fighting took place near the Lanao del Sur Provincial Capitol in the city center. Black-clad Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants were spotted on the city's major roads and bridges. The militants also reportedly took control of the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative in Barangay Gadungan. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said there were still three or four dozen Maute, as well as Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, remaining in Marawi. The Philippine air force launched strikes against remnants of the group in three nearby villages.
Reports came in that two Malaysian terrorists who were with Isnilon Hapilon in Marawi to push for the creation of the Islamic State in Southeast Asia were killed. Intelligence sources also said that an Indonesian and a Saudi Arabian linked to ISIS were also killed in skirmishes. The AFP said that 26 of the around 50 Maute militants in the area were killed and 30 government soldiers were wounded.
May 26
At a press briefing in Davao City, AFP Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla stated that some of the terrorists were foreigners who had been in the country for quite some time, offering support to the Maute group in Marawi. He noted that of the twelve killed in a recent engagement, six were from out of the country.
Amid continuing operations against the terror groups, several houses, including the residence of Lanao del Sur's 2nd District Representative Mauyag Papandayan Jr., were seen burning as residents also reported seeing civilians killed after the military dropped bombs on Maute positions. Sources said the houses were targeted because of the presence of Maute snipers. According to AFP Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., dwellings in the area were intentionally set on fire so as to keep them from being used as cover by Maute fighters. Limited air strikes were also used on Maute sniper positions. Galvez insisted no civilians were reported killed in the air strikes.
Father Chito Suganob and his companions who were taken hostage by the Maute group on 23 May, were still being held by the group according to Marawi bishop Edwin de la Peña.
May 27
1st Infantry Division spokesman Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera told reporters that they identified where Maute fighters were consolidating and were conducting "surgical air strikes to destroy the local terrorist group." The AFP and the Philippine National Police Special Action Force continued their clearing operations by checking each house and building in the downtown area. During operations, troops encountered child soldiers as young as 10 years old armed with M-16 rifles being used by the Maute group.
90 percent of Marawi's population of more than 200,000 people had been evacuated to safer grounds, particularly in Iligan.
May 28
AFP spokesman Jo-Ar Herrera reported 19 civilians, some of whom were women and children, had been killed in Marawi. Some of the victims were later identified as local carpenters who were part of an evacuation convoy; the militants stopped the convoy and then massacred those who could not recite verses from the Quran. Authorities said that 2,000 civilians were trapped in militant-controlled areas.
Reports came in that 28 Malaysians had joined the Maute Group. Citing intelligence sources in Manila, a Malaysian newspaper reported that they arrived early last week supposedly for a religious event and may have also taken up arms, a conclusion they arrived at after 2 Malaysians were killed in firefights. The ongoing clash also raised concerns in Jakarta that extremist groups in Indonesia could be drawn to join the fight in Marawi as well.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar appealed for foreign support in fighting the militants in Marawi.
May 29
The AFP said that the death toll in Marawi had reached 100, including 19 civilians and 61 militants. The military had also retaken most of Marawi previously occupied by the extremist groups. Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said that only small areas in the city remained under militants' control. The AFP also reported that fighters from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in neighboring Maguindanao joined the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups in Marawi and that the Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon remained holed up in the city.
Amid continuing air strikes and ground fighting, fourteen hostages managed to escape their Maute captors. The men said they were part of a group of 20 who had been taken captive on May 27 while evacuating the city. Their captors forced them to film a video appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte to accede to the militants' demands or the hostages would be killed. One of the hostages was indeed beheaded, they reported, and one drowned during the escape.
A spokesman for Nur Misuari said that he had ordered the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which he chaired, to fight any Maute in Lanao del Sur. Misuari offered a unit of 500 to 700 MNLF fighters to help fight the extremists. Luis Jalandoni of the National Democratic Front stated his group was willing to help as well.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government decided to implement a "peace corridor" in Lanao del Sur as part of an effort to hasten humanitarian operations for displaced residents. The corridor stretched from Marawi down to Malabang.