Philippine president says to lift martial law once Marawi conflict over

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday that he would lift martial law on the entire southern island of Mindanao once the Marawi conflict is over.

Duterte declared martial law for 60 days on the island of Mindanao on May 23 when pro-Islamic State militants attacked the city. In July, Philippine legislators voted overwhelmingly to extend the martial law to deal with the unsolved insurgents.

The nearly four-month battle to retake Marawi from the IS fighters continues to date.

Duterte, who visited the government security forces fighting in Marawi again on Thursday afternoon, said the end of the conflict is "just around the corner."

Duterte also noted that there will be no big celebration when the city is finally completely retaken by government troops, adding that there are no victors in the war.

Once the city is cleared and the situation stabilized, Duterte said the rebuilding and rehabilitation will start, which will take billions of pesos.

It was Duterte's fifth visit to the city devastated by war. He first visited Marawi on July 20. He went back again on Aug. 4, and then Aug. 24 and on Sept. 11.

Nearly 900 people have so far been killed in the ongoing fight in Marawi, including more than 673 terrorists and 149 soldiers and policemen.

The war also displaced almost 500,000 civilians in the city and its surrounding towns and villages. Many of the displaced are now housed in government evacuation centers.