Philippine military approves truce for eid celebration

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines

The military announced Saturday a brief cease-fire against a Daesh-linked group to allow Muslims to celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan on Sunday.

This deal came after Filipino Muslim clerics urged President Rodrigo Duterte and leaders of the Maute group to allow even a brief reprieve for the sake of safe celebrations for Eid'l Fitr.

Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said state security forces will observe the "humanitarian pause" from 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. (2200GMT – 0600GMT).

"To give reverence to the supposed peaceful, joyous and festive spiritual celebration, the AFP declares a stop in our current operations in the city on that day to serve as a gesture of our strong commitment and respect to the Muslim world," Galvez said.

The eight-hour truce, however, will be immediately lifted if troops' security is jeopardized, the safety of civilians is threatened or the enemy begins firing. At that point individuals could exercise their right to self-defense, according to Galvez.