Duterte declares martial law in Phillipines island

Manila, May 24 (IANS) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the entire island of Mindanao and nearby island provinces, following clashes between government forces and armed Maute group.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday also announced in Moscow that Duterte, who is on an official visit to Russia, has decided to cut short his visit, adding that Duterte's face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin may not happen, Xinhua news agency reported.

Duterte's spokesman Ernesto Abella said Duterte declared martial law "in the entire island of Mindanao, including (the island provinces of) Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi".

"This is possible on the grounds of existence of rebellion because of what is happening in Mindanao. This is good for 60 days," Abella said.

By declaring martial law, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the military can control the movement of the rebels, conduct searches, arrest people and suspend the habeas corpus.

The fighting broke out after a joint team of the military and police tried to serve a warrant of arrest on a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, Lorenzana said.

The Maute Group started to occupy some establishments in the city, including a hospital, the city hall, the city jail and part of the Mindanao State University compound, he said.

The Maute Group "burned several facilities, including a Roman Catholic church, the city jail, and a school," he said, adding that "the Maute fighters still occupy the main street of Malawi City and two bridges leading to the city".

The whole of Malawi City is experiencing blackout. "There is no light and there are Maute snipers all around so the troops are still on holding," he said.

According to the military, the Maute group was formed by the Maute family led by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute, former members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The group has declared loyalty to the Islamic State (IS), an international jihadist group.