In Philippines, Christians are being tortured and used as “human shields” by ISIS
About 100 Christians are being used to supply and weapons to ISIS
Islamic State fighters in Philippines are using dozens of Christians as human shields to protect themselves amid an ongoing battle to retake the city of Marawi. According to Daily Mail, De acuerdo a información de Daily Mail, militants of the MAUTE group, linked to ISIS, are hiding behind 100 Christians hostages. The president, Rodrigo Duterte ordered bombing raids by planes on the rebel zone.
Most of Marawi’s 200,000 citizens have fled since the terrorist group overtook the city on May 23, according to Reuters. Those left behind were forced to convert to Islam, carry wounded fighters to mosques, and marry militants of the Maute group, according to army spokesman Jo-Ar Herrera.
Women are forced to be sexual slaves, forced to destroy the dignity of those women. “This is what is happening inside, this is very evident. These are evil personalities.
Captivity
Seven hostages earlier rescued by government troops shared harrowing stories of their captivity, which included rape and being forced to loot from abandoned houses in the war zone.
“The hostages were tasked to loot houses, establishments [for] ammunition, firearms, cash, [and] gold,” Herrera said.
So far, 70 servicemen, 27 civilians and 290 militants have been killed, and 246,000 people have been displaced in clashes between militants and government troops. The unexpected attack and the terrorist groups’ access to heavy weapons and use of foreign fighters have “raised fears in the mainly Catholic country that the Marawi battle could just be the start of a wider campaign” and reflects the IS’s intention to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia, notes Reuters.
