Duterte vows 'harsh' martial law in southern Philippine

Critics of Duterte, who has waged a controversial war on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives, have feared that he may use various security threats as an excuse to impose a form of authoritarian rule.

Manila (AFP) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned Wednesday that martial law would be "harsh" and like a dictatorship, after imposing military rule in the south of the country to combat Islamist militants.

Duterte declared martial law in the southern region of Mindanao, home to about 20 million people, on Tuesday night after gunmen who had declared allegiance to the Islamic State group rampaged through a southern city.