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‘We want to go home’: More than a year after the liberation of Marawi, the southern Philippine city continues to lie in ruins
- Nothing much has changed since the bombs and bullets stopped flying in the city in October 2017
- About 100,000 people displaced from the Marawi violence are unable to return home, living with relatives or in camps across the island of Mindanao
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At the edge of a bridge in southern Philippines leading into the heart of the devastation from a 2017 siege against Islamic State-linked militants, an electric-blue billboard stands apart from the ruins. In rainbow-coloured letters, it proudly declares: “Marawi will rise again! Soon...”.
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So far, it sounds like an empty promise.
More than a year since Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the city liberated, Marawi looks almost as it did when the bombs and bullets stopped flying in October 2017, following five months of urban combat.
Not a single new structure has been built. Almost none of the debris has been cleared. Snakes and mosquitoes infest the bright-green canopy of weeds engulfing the ruins. The odd stray dog has taken refuge inside battle-ravaged buildings.
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About 100,000 people displaced from the Marawi violence are unable to return home, living with relatives or in camps across the southern island of Mindanao. This predominantly-Muslim region has seen clashes for decades between Philippine security forces and various groups of insurgents and militants, including the Abu Sayyaf.
Marawi, however, stands apart.
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