President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has ordered police to halt all operations in his deadly war on drugs, in which more than 7,000 people have been killed since he took office last year.

The order, announced during a speech to soldiers at the presidential palace, does not end the campaign as Duterte added that a drug enforcement agency under his office and possibly the military would continue the fight.

“I have ordered the police to stop all operations,” Duterte said during the speech. “No policeman in this country anywhere is allowed to enforce laws related to the drug campaign.”

The speech follows months of allegations by human rights groups that the police have used the officially sanctioned crackdown to conduct extrajudicial killings. On Tuesday, Amnesty International released a report alleging that police have planted evidence and stolen from people they had killed.

Duterte’s announcement builds on a order issued this week that disbanded anti-drugs police units after the killing of a South Korean businessman by rogue officers.

Duterte said he had been “embarrassed” that anti-drugs officers had abused their power to engage in the kidnapping and strangulation of Jee Ick-joo in the grounds of the national police headquarters.

At the presidential palace on Tuesday, Duterte said the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency would take the lead in his campaign, with the support of the military.

The PDEA’s 1,800 staff make up just over 1% of the 160,000-strong Philippine national police.

Duterte suggested in the speech that he might need to enlist the help of soldiers, too, saying he would be dead “if I don’t include you in the game”.

The president has previously threatened to impose martial law but the extent of the military’s upcoming involvement in the drug war in unclear. Armed forces spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said military action was discussed at the security talks, but it was not clear what form that would take.

Duterte has also stated that the timeframe for his drug war would continue until the end of his term in 2022. Previously he had imposed a deadline of March this year.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said Duterte was considering re-establishing the police constabulary, a paramilitary force used by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. “It’s not yet official but as far as I know the Philippine constabulary may be reactivated,” Abella told reporters.

Thousands of suspected low-level dealers but also alleged drug users have been gunned down in Duterte’s war on drugs, which aims to end methamphetamine use. Most deaths are attributed to vigilante killings or unsolved murders but about 2,550 occurred during police operations.

Official data on Tuesday showed four additional deaths in police operations, although it was not immediately clear when those took place.

Congressman Edcel Lagman described the sidelining of police as “a blessing” and said it was time to get tough.

“For the first time in six months there are no reports today of drug-related killings,” Lagman said. “There should be no more kids gloves for police scalawags who deserve an iron fist.”

Reuters and AFP contributed to this report