More than 1900 killed in Philippines anti-drug war

Philippine: Since Philippine's new President Rodrigo Duterte came into power more seven weeks ago, over 1,900 people have been killed in a violent campaign against drugs said the country's national police chief.

During a senate hearing on Tuesday, Director-General Ronald dela Rosa said there was no declared policy in the country to kill drug users and pushers and that about 1,100 deaths were still being investigated.

"We are not butchers," he said adding that the rest of the dead were people killed in police anti-narcotics operations.

Speaking after dela Rosa's assertion, Senator Frank Drilon said;

"This has a chilling effect," "We are all concerned about the number of deaths, by any language this is alarming."

Duterte, nicknamed "the Punisher", won large majority of voters due to his promise to wipe out drugs and warned traffickers they risked death if they did not change their ways.

President Duterte

The inquiry being carried out by a strong critic of the president, Senator Leila de Lima, who had invited top police and anti-narcotics officials  comes after the "unprecedented" rise in the number of bodies counted and reports of vigilante killings.

President Duterte has also issued a warning to legislators not to interfere with the campaign, saying they could be eliminated if they blocked any efforts aimed at fixing the country.

According to reports, almost 700,000 drug users and peddlers have turned themselves in a bid to escape the punishment said police chief dela Rosa said adding that there was a decrease in overall crime, but murders and homicides had had been on the rise.

The US had recently said it was "deeply concerned" by the reports of the killings and the State Department adviced Duterte's government to abide by human rights norms.