From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 2 hours ago, updated 58 minutes ago
The Mindanao State University gymnasium after the attack. LANAO DEL SUR PROVINCE GOVERNMENT / Portal
The explosion occurred during a service at a university gym in Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim city in an insurgency-torn region.
At least four people were killed and dozens injured in a bomb attack on Sunday (December 3) during a Catholic mass in the southern Philippines, an insurgency-hit region, authorities said. The explosion occurred during a mass at the Mindanao State University gymnasium in Marawi, the country’s largest Muslim city, regional police chief Allan Nobleza said.
“We are investigating whether it was an improvised explosive device or a grenade,” Allan Nobleza said. Lanao del Sur province governor Mamintal Adiong told reporters that “more than 40” injured people were hospitalized.
In a statement, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos strongly condemned these “senseless and particularly heinous acts by foreign terrorists.” The Mindanao State University also condemned this “act of violence” in a statement and declared itself “in solidarity” with its Christian community and the victims of “this tragedy.” She suspended classes and sent more security personnel to campus. Photos posted on the Lanao del Sur government’s Facebook page showed overturned plastic chairs and debris around a black spot on the floor of the gymnasium where the mass was held.
“My friends were crying”
Chris Honculado, a 21-year-old student, told AFP from his hospital bed that the explosion occurred during the first reading from the Bible at 7 a.m. Mass. “The explosion was very sudden and everyone started running,” Chris Honculado said. “When I looked behind me, there were people lying on the ground. We didn’t know what was happening, it all happened very quickly.
Rowena Mae Fernandez, 19, also from the hospital, said she did not immediately understand the nature of the explosion but that people had fled the scene. “My partner and I also ran, although we collapsed at some point. “That’s the only thing I remember until I left the gym and fell again,” she told AFP. “My friends cried because they saw my injury.”
Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra urged members of the Muslim and Christian communities to remain united. “Our city has long been a symbol of peaceful coexistence and harmony, and we will not allow such acts of violence to overshadow our shared commitment to peace and unity,” Majul Gandamra said.
The attack came after a Philippine military airstrike killed 11 Islamist militants from the Dawlah Islamiya-Philippine organization in Mindanao on Friday. Allan Nobleza said police were investigating whether Sunday’s attack was related to the military operation. The military said on Saturday that the Islamist organization was planning attacks in Maguindanao del Sur province.
“Cowardly acts”
Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Sur are part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim said he “condemns these cruel and cowardly acts” and called for a “thorough investigation.” Militant attacks on buses, Catholic churches and public markets are characteristic of the unrest that has rocked the region for decades.
In 2014, Manila signed a peace pact with the country’s largest rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front, ending their bloody armed insurgency. But there are still small groups of Muslim insurgents who oppose the peace deal, including militants who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group. Communist rebels also operate in the region.
In May 2017, hundreds of foreign and local pro-IS fighters captured Marawi. The Philippine army recaptured the destroyed city after a five-month battle that cost more than a thousand lives. Another focus of the investigation is investigating whether remnants of the Islamist groups Maute and Abu Sayyaf, which were involved in the siege of Marawi, were involved, the regional police chief said.