Philippine troops committed rights abuses in Marawi battle: Amnesty

Amnesty International says both Philippine government forces and Daesh militants committed human rights abuses during a five-month battle in the southern city of Marawi in the Philippines.

The London-based human rights group released a 34-page report on Friday, saying all sides in the fighting were guilty of violations.

The report said the Takfiri militants had committed unlawful killings, hostage-taking, pillage, and had mistreated prisoners in Marawi, which is located on the southern island of Mindanao.

The report, entitled “The Battle of Marawi: Death and destruction in the Philippines,” said the terrorists used child soldiers and singled out Christians for attacks.

Some survivors said hostages had been executed or physically abused and forced into labor and used as human shields, the report said.

Some hostages, who had managed to escape, said that they had been detained and tortured by security forces, who suspected them to be militants.

“I was punched and kicked,” the report quoted a survivor as saying. “They tied our hands and feet with electrical wire… The military was angry because 13 of their men were killed.”

Marawi had been the scene of fierce fighting between the Philippine forces and the terrorists since May 23. The militants occupied Marawi after taking control of the city’s central business district. They ransacked banks and shops and looted houses.

Last month, the Philippine government declared the city fully liberated.

The violence has displaced hundreds of thousands of residents and left at least 1,131 people dead, including 919 militants and 165 soldiers and police officers.

The Amnesty investigation, which was based on interviews with 48 witnesses from September until early November, cited at least 10 separate incidents where at least 25 Christians had been executed by the militants.

The rights group described the executions as war crimes.

Philippine government forces were also accused of killing non-combatants in airstrikes, which may have been carried out in excess.

At least ten hostages, Amnesty said, might have also been killed in a single aerial bombing carried out by the government armed forces.

Amnesty said an independent inquiry had be carried out into the bombardments to find out whether government “bombings of civilian neighborhoods were proportional under international humanitarian law.”

“The Philippine authorities must bring those responsible for torture and other violations to justice and ensure that the victims receive adequate reparations,” said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International’s crisis response director.

In reaction to the report, Philippine armed forces spokesman, Restituto Padilla, said Filipino troops had been given strict instructions to observe and respect international humanitarian law.

“We will not tolerate and condone these abuses and will act on them,” he told in a news briefing on Friday.

United States Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had hailed the Philippine military last month for ending the siege without a single credible human rights abuse allegation.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk