As the government remains unsure when the conflict in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, will end, the death toll in ground zero continues to rise and is nearing 1,000, according to the military.
In a news briefing on Monday, Armed Forces Spokesman Restituto F. Padilla Jr. said the number of lives lost in Marawi City is a fingertip close to 1,000 after more than four months of fighting. According to the military’s recent count, the conflict has claimed a total of 982 lives—777 were terrorists, 158 were government troops, and 47 were civilians.
Padilla said government troops were able to clear 69 buildings over the weekend. However, he added there are still 200 buildings in about 5 to 7 hectares that are up for clearing by the military.
“Our troops are concentrating in this area and where those more or less 200 facilities remain, which includes one mosque, which we believe is likewise being used as a safe haven and as a storage area for arms, food and whatever cache they have,” he said.
As the death toll continues to rise, the military remains unsure when the conflict will end and has opted not to set a deadline, following numerous failures to meet previous target dates.
“I was just asking our troops on the ground if any categorical statement was made regarding the deadline, [and] I was informed there was none. We’re really aiming to have this concluded at the soonest possible time,” Padilla said.
“So as the case is, even the chief of staff does not want to put pressure on the troops because we know that any kind of pressure might lead to action that may lead to more casualties on our part. So we’re just being very careful about this,” the military’s spokesman added.
Aside from clearing buildings, Padilla said government troops are taking extra caution in conducting offensives against the Islamist extremists, in light of reports that there remains about 40 hostages held by the enemy.