MANILA, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- An all-female contingent of military and police personnel arrived in southern Philippines on Tuesday in an effort to give a "female touch" to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said the 60 female army soldiers and 40 policewomen will provide "psychosocial intervention" to the thousands of internally displaced persons across Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur province.
Arevalo said the women special forces have undergone intensive training on peace building and countering extremism before their deployment to the combat zone.
Since the war broke out last May 23, the government said at least 500,000 people have been displaced. About 800 extremist fighters, civilians, soldiers and policemen have so far been killed as troops continue to retake the rest of the city from militants allied with the Middle East-based Islamic State (IS).
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