Hostages who escaped the clutches of jihad-ists in Marawi, described being made to build bombs for militants, it was reported in October.
More than 200 hostages, many of whom are Christians, were held by militants and forced to construct improvised explosive devices, as well as scavenge for food and weapons. Some were press-ganged into fighting for Islamist rebels. At the time of writing, government forces are expecting to retake Marawi shortly, after four months of fighting. One escaped hostage recalled how the jihadists – excited by their ‘success’ in Marawi – openly discussed possible other targets, including the Philippines’ capital, Manila.
Fight for Shar’ia law
The Philippines have a Christian majority, but the southern region has a significant Muslim population and Islamist groups have been engaged in a decades-long conflict with the government as they fight for the Philippines to be ruled using Shar’ia law.
