MANILA: Hijab-clad female soldiers are to be deployed throughout the Philippines as part of a major counterterrorism initiative.
The so-called “hijab troopers” will provide vital support to communities traumatized by war. Their placement in key areas across the country follows the success of their deployment during the Marawi siege last year, when Daesh-inspired local terrorists seized the city.
Army Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the troopers have been trained in preventing and countering violent extremism.
“Because of their success in Marawi, it’s believed that they’ll also be effective in other places,” he told Arab News. “They’ll provide cultural and psychosocial services in urban communities.” This will help in maintaining order and security in cities, he added.
As well as Marawi, the female troopers will also move into other areas, including the cities of Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela, and the village of Maharlika.
Last week, the Philippine Army held a special ceremony during which the contribution of the “hijab troopers” to the ongoing rehabilitation of Marawi was recognized.
Members of the army unit, comprising four officers and 56 enlisted personnel, were awarded the Military Merit Medal for their services in Marawi in 2017.
Their main involvement was providing support to the local government and other agencies in helping those displaced by the five months of fighting between government forces and the Maute terror group. They were specifically focused on peace education and assisting in psychosocial debriefing, especially among children and young people traumatized by the war.
The deployment of the female soldiers wearing hijabs was concentrated in areas where the majority of the population practice Islam.
Diosita Andot, undersecretary of the office of the presidential adviser on the peace process in the Philippines, told the women at the awards ceremony: “As women in uniform, you are already in the task of peacekeeping. But I know that with the job you are doing in the IDP (internationally displaced persons) camps, you can also do peacemaking and peacebuilding as well.”
Philippines to deploy ‘hijab troopers’ nationwide
Philippines to deploy ‘hijab troopers’ nationwide
- The deployment of the female soldiers wearing hijabs was concentrated in areas where the majority of the population practice Islam
Russia says foreign forces in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate targets’
- Moscow has repeatedly said it will not tolerate the presence in Ukraine of troops from Western countries
MOSCOW: Russia would regard the deployment of any foreign military forces or infrastructure in Ukraine as foreign intervention and treat those forces as legitimate targets, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday, citing Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The ministry’s comment, one of many it said were in response to questions put to Lavrov, also praised US President Donald Trump’s efforts at working for a resolution of the war and said he understood the fundamental reasons behind the conflict.
“The deployment of military units, facilities, warehouses, and other infrastructure of Western countries in Ukraine is unacceptable to us and will be regarded as foreign intervention posing a direct threat to Russia’s security,” the ministry said on its website.
It said Western countries — which have discussed a possible deployment to Ukraine to help secure any peace deal — had to understand “that all foreign military contingents, including German ones, if deployed in Ukraine, will become legitimate targets for the Russian Armed Forces.”
The United States has spearheaded efforts to hold talks aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine and a second three-sided meeting with Russian and Ukrainian representatives is to take place this week in the United Arab Emirates.
The issue of ceding internationally recognized Ukrainian territory to Russia remains a major stumbling block. Kyiv rejects Russian calls for it to give up all of its Donbas region, including territory Moscow’s forces have not captured.
Moscow has repeatedly said it will not tolerate the presence in Ukraine of troops from Western countries.
The ministry said Moscow valued the “purposeful efforts” of the Trump administration in working toward a resolution and understanding Russia’s long-running concerns about NATO’s eastward expansion and its overtures to Ukraine.
It described Trump as “one of the few Western politicians who not only immediately refused to advance meaningless and destructive preconditions for starting a substantive dialogue with Moscow on the Ukrainian crisis, but also publicly spoke about its root causes.”
