Thousands displaced by brigand activities of Maute group

MARAWI CITY --- The provincial government of Lanao del Sur is scrambling to extend relief services to 1,995 villagers dislocated by Saturday’s attack by Dawlah Islamiya extremists in Butig town.Salma Jayne Tamano, Lanao del Sur’s provincial information officer, on Monday said the evacuees were given initial food rations on Sunday and are to receive more provisions within the week.The relief operations in evacuation sites were facilitated by personnel of the provincial social welfare office led by Lanny Alonto.Local officials in Butig and Barangay leaders confirmed on Monday that no fewer than 17 members of the outlawed Dawla gang had been killed in encounters since late Saturday with soldiers sent to drive them away.Police officials on Monday denied stories being spread by the militants, also known as the Maute terror group, and their supporters via Facebook purporting that Jihadists have still been occupying villages of unarmed peasants they stormed last weekend.Most of the gunmen have scampered away taking with them farm animals and other belongings they collected from houses of villagers they forced to leave at gunpoint.The sources said there is no truth either to assertions that the extremists had crippled an Army tank with rocket-propelled grenades. That is something the government cannot hide. The truth is more than a dozen of them had been killed by advancing Army personnel, said a town official, who asked not to be identified for security reasons.The group, fashioned from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is led by relatives Omar and Abdullah Maute.The civilians displaced by the hostilities in Butig are now confined in evacuation sites in safer areas far from the scene of the encounters.Tamano said Lanao del Sur Gov. Soraya Alonto Adiong has assured to provide all evacuees with enough relief supplies while they are confined in evacuation sites.