US, PH to launch program to stop IS recruitmentBy MASIDING NOOR YAHYAhome/News/Regions/US, PH to launch program to stop IS recruitmentjoint Filipino-American program aimed at stifling recruitment efforts by Islamic State (IS)-linked militants in southern Philippines would be launched within weeks, a senior US State Department official said. “The program is being finalized and should be launched in the next couple of weeks,” said Natali, chief of the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. In a bid to carve out their own wilayah, or province, local militants led the 2017 siege in Marawi, capital of Lanao del Sur and former Muslim trading hub. “There is no direct causal relationship between poverty and violent extremism in this case.”Despite the findings, according to Natali, there was not a one-size-fits-all program for dealing with extremist groups. “What we find in one province can differ in another province, and even within different localities in a province.”

Source: Manila Times June 15, 2019 19:41 UTC