Manila: Militants in Marawi City are turning their hostages into suicide bombers in a desperate effort to shake off government forces besieging them, officials said.

During the “Mindanao Hour” press briefing on Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said that based on statements given by some Marawi City residents who had escaped from captivity from the Maute-Abu Sayyaf militants, some of the captives have been made to wear improvised explosive devices (IED) by their captors.

“We strongly denounce this desperate action which is apparently carefully calculated to create violent reaction from the general populace,” Abella said.

He said that the measure was taken by the militants in order to create tensions between ethnic groups which terrorists expect to work to their favour.

“We assure that government forces will strictly abide by the rules of engagement to secure the safety of the hostages including women and children,” he said.

During the initial days of the Marawi crisis, which started on May 23 when the Daesh-inspired Maute-Abu Sayyaf seized strategic areas of the Southern Philippines’ city, the militants held hostage some 100 civilians including Catholic cleric Father Chito Soganob.

According to Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, while there are strong indications that Soganob is still alive based on statements of the hostages who were able to escape, the situation of the other captives remain dire.

He said that at first, the captives were used as human shields and made to perform dangerous tasks such as picking up ammunition and unexploded bombs and other ordnance that would be used as improvised explosive device; now they are actually being used as suicide bombers.

“Enemy would be using hostages as suicide bombers once they are cornered by government forces,” Padilla said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said he does not care if the hostage situation would drag on as long as the safety of the hostages is given consideration.

Padilla assured that government forces would continue to abide by the rules of engagement to ensure the safety of hostages.

Escaped captives Romar and Roel Marjalino and Jimmy Esperat earlier told authorities that 46 hostages remain in the hands of the Maute-Abu Sayyaf militants.

Lt-Colonel Emmanuel Garcia, armed forces 4th Civil Relations Group commander, said some of the female hostages are being forced to marry militants.

Padilla said that as of August 13, the number of militant fatalities has risen to 562 while government soldiers and police slain in the fighting stand at 128. The number of civilians killed remain at 45.

The Maute-Abu Sayyaf launched an uprising on May 23 as government forces attempted to arrest their leaders which include brothers Abdulla and Omarkhayam Maute as well as Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon.

The Maute-Abu Sayyaf are trying to establish a caliphate in Central Mindanao where a strict interpretation of the Sharia would be implemented.