MARAWI CITY—Fighting has displaced close to 2,000 people in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur, as government security forces intensified anti-terror offensives since the early hours of Saturday, officials and residents said.
Bomber aircraft pounded suspected lairs of the Maute terror group, which had declared allegiance to the Islamic State.
Residents said dozens of six-by-six military trucks carrying ground troops headed for Piagapo Sunday morning in an apparent full-scale operation.
The military has yet to officially disclose to media the magnitude of the anti-terror offensive.
But in an initial assessment report, the Office of Gov. Soraya Alonto- Adiong said 416 families and 1,828 individuals have been evacuated to neighboring municipalities.
Alonto-Adiong said the province needed supplemental relief assistance, since the latest evacuation took place when the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council was hardly through attending to needs of families dislocated by last week’s magnitude 5.5 earthquake in nearby Wao town.
Jeannie Tamano, Provincial Information Office head, said the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office had packed 400 bags of food supplies consisting of rice, canned fish, packs of quick noodles, sugar and coffee.
Heavy fighting continued into Sunday, military officials said.
The group had moved into Piagapo from Butig Friday, said Brig. Gen. Rolando Joselito Bautista.
Government forces faced fierce resistance from the cornered terrorists, military officials said.
They added that the intensified campaign was in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to crush terrorism in Mindanao.
Initial reports said 15 members of the group had been killed, while the government reported no casualties so far.
Police and military forces in Lanao del Norte and Iligan City were under heightened alert, with checkpoints set up in vital areas.
