Soldiers onboard military trucks ride along the main street as government troops continue their assault on insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over large parts of Marawi City, Philippines June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
Marawi will not be turned into an ISIS hub or a province of the terrorist group in Southeast Asia, said Philippine Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella in a media briefing.
“It’s unlikely for Marawi to become a new hub for IS fighters. The Philippine military has already pre-empted the Maute group from establishing a wilayat or a province in Marawi,”CNN quoted the presidential spokesman.
The comment followed US media reports that the Philippine military is conducting not enough efforts to drive ISIS members from the city of Marawi.
On Tuesday, government troops, backed up by warplanes and helicopters, launched another offensive against ISIS members inside the city. According to military sources, the army hopes to liberate the whole city soon. However, there is no deadline.
He has to give that assurance as Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Thailand would be the first to be effected if Marawi does become ISIS’s regional centre for operations.
Indonesia and Malaysia are basically already ISIS nations. Most of the people there are radical sunni takfiris like in Saudi Isrelia.
Excuse me if I explain my reply the long winded way. Yes, in both instances there an influx of foreign influence, troubling ethnic and religious politics and support for ISIS in some shape or form. The difference between the two countries would be the policies and style of governance. Malaysia has long been on the road to radicalisation, since the early 1980’s (and ironically for Sunni majority country who is also now pro Saudi) because of the Iranian Revolution. Local politics and system of government has been deeply infused with a growing (and now influential) hardline Islamic ideology, changing the country’s secular ideals, multicultural, multiethnic and multireligious landscape forever. Indonesia though having its share of similar problems, still has a local, vocal and moderate Islamic ideology to counter the influences now apparent. In a worse case scenario, Malaysia would be the first to become either a Pakistan, Bosnia or Syria.
Spot on. The current ruling government of Malaysia is weak and very corrupted. The Sunni states (Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait etc) have been pouring money into Malaysia since 1980s to change secularism into Wahhabism. This is also happening in Indonesia and both countries will go to the dog very soon.
Where there is no justice……………………………. there is no peace.
good on duterte.