Is the nightmare over?

(Baonghean) - The successful liberation of Marawi from the hands of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has helped Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte fulfill his promise. However, the results of a specific battle cannot reassure the people of this country in the context of increasing radicalization and terrorist ideology.

The headache subsided.

The fighting in Marawi City is the biggest security crisis for President Rodrigo Duterte since he took office. He has declared martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year and called on lawmakers to approve a fund to increase troop levels by 20,000.

On August 30, Mr. Duterte said that the conflict that has been caused by decades of separatism here has not found a solution. The problem in Marawi could be much more complicated and it is not excluded that there will be an alliance between two rebel groups from different parts of Mindanao island - the emerging Maute group and the old Abu Sayyaf group that has been formed.

And the capture of a city on Mindanao by these forces is just the tip of the iceberg. Each group will occupy a city to serve as a base for extremists to gather and from there develop IS's next plans.

Philippine troops celebrate victory after retaking Marawi City from Islamic rebels. Photo: Los Angeles Times

In the recent crisis, the Philippine military said the key to resolving the problem was to capture or kill the leaders, who were believed to be hiding in the war zone. The challenge was ensuring the safety of dozens of hostages.

Failure to do so would be disastrous for the military, which has been widely criticized for air strikes that destroyed infrastructure but were ineffective when ground forces mistakenly bombed twice.

President Duterte explained that the war lasted so long because the government wanted to ensure the safety of the hostages, and they could not bomb a mosque - where rebel leaders were hiding.

However, former congressman Rodolfo Biazon, who served as a military chief of staff, said that after retaking Marawi City, the government should focus less on military solutions and try to focus on civil measures, considering it as the core fundamental strategy given the fact that the rebel groups still receive support from the local population.

However, this is not yet a time for the Philippine government to celebrate. Many challenges lie ahead after the battle. First and foremost is the reconstruction and restoration of peace to the people of Marawi.

The protracted fighting has left the vibrant island city devastated, with 20% of its infrastructure destroyed, more than 1,000 people killed and more than 500,000 displaced. Rebuilding the city could cost an estimated 56 billion pesos ($1.1 billion). Terrorism experts say the battle for Marawi is a “symbolic defeat” for pro-IS militants on the Philippine island of Mindanao.

However, these extremists are still very dangerous because after a period of silence, they will soon rebuild their forces and act more violently. Instead of directly training and planning attacks, IS turns their ideology into action through local extremist groups. At that time, not only the Philippines but the entire Southeast Asian region will be "in danger".

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte addresses troops on Tuesday (October 17), shortly after news of the killing of a rebel leader. Photo: Associated Press

Risk of spread

The story of extremist terrorism in Marawi is not unique to the Philippines, in the context of the IS terrorist organization and extremist ideology appearing more and more in Southeast Asia. After Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore has also recently foiled IS's plots to gain prestige.

In the context of IS's shrinking territory and suffering many losses in the Middle East, Southeast Asia has suitable conditions to attract extremists: about 15% of the world's 1.57 billion Muslims live here, of which Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia are countries with a majority of Muslim people.

The risk of IS spreading its influence in some Southeast Asian countries is real as thousands of extremists in these countries have pledged allegiance to IS via the Internet.

It is estimated that there are currently 700 Indonesians and 100 Malaysians fighting with IS in the Middle East. In fact, Southeast Asian authorities have found certain links between IS and a series of recent attacks in Southeast Asia.

Up to now, the US-led international coalition’s war on terrorism has mainly taken place in the Middle East. However, terrorist activities continue to have many unpredictable manifestations and are not limited to any region in the world. And Southeast Asia has become a “hot spot” for recruiting IS fighters. What is needed now is for countries in the region to step up cooperation in sharing intelligence and security to be able to detect and prevent such threats early.

The black flag – the 'symbol' of IS with a rebel at a house in Marawi city in May. Photo: AFP

Thanh Son