BBC ONLINE 5 March 2013
Last updated at 01:41 GMT
Malaysia's prime minister authorised troops to "take any action necessary"
Malaysia soldiers attack armed Filipino clan in Borneo
Malaysia's prime minister authorised troops to "take any action necessary"
Malaysian
soldiers have launched an assault on armed members of a Filipino clan
who have killed eight policemen on the island of Borneo in recent days.
The operation to take over an area in Sabah state occupied by about 180 Filipinos began at 07:00 (23:00 GMT on Monday), the Malaysian government said.
Seven army battalions were deployed to the area on Monday to reinforce police.
Last month, the Filipinos landed at a coastal village in Lahad Datu district and insisted the territory was theirs.
Calling themselves the Royal Army of Sulu, the clan members said they were descendants of the sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines, which ruled parts of northern Borneo for centuries, and demanded that the Malaysian government pay more money to lease their land.
The operation to take over an area in Sabah state occupied by about 180 Filipinos began at 07:00 (23:00 GMT on Monday), the Malaysian government said.
Seven army battalions were deployed to the area on Monday to reinforce police.
Last month, the Filipinos landed at a coastal village in Lahad Datu district and insisted the territory was theirs.
Calling themselves the Royal Army of Sulu, the clan members said they were descendants of the sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines, which ruled parts of northern Borneo for centuries, and demanded that the Malaysian government pay more money to lease their land.
Malaysia refused their demands and urged the group to return home.
On Monday, the government of the Philippines appealed to
Malaysia to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further bloodshed, and
sent Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to Kuala Lumpur for
talks.
Officials said he would request that a Philippine navy ship be permitted to sail to Lahad Datu to bring the clan members home.
Officials said he would request that a Philippine navy ship be permitted to sail to Lahad Datu to bring the clan members home.
'Pride and sovereignty'
Nineteen clan members have also died during the three-week stand-off.
Twelve were killed along with two Malaysian policemen when Malaysian security forces tried to tighten the cordon around the occupied village on Friday. The incident sparked violence in another area over the weekend, in which seven clan members and six policemen died.
The brother of the clan's leader, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, has said they are not violating any laws because Sabah is "owned by the sultan of Sulu" and insisted that they have a right to defend themselves if attacked.
However, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said over the weekend that its forces were authorised to "take any action deemed necessary".
After the army assault on the clan members was launched on Tuesday, Mr Najib said in a statement: "I have asserted that the intruders must surrender and if they refuse the authorities of this country will take action.
"The government has to take the right action in order to preserve the pride and sovereignty of this country," he added.
Sabah shares a sea border with the southern Philippines, which is home to a number of Islamic militant and kidnap-for ransom groups. The journey between the two can take only a few hours.
It formed part of the Sulu Sultanate - which once spread over several southern Philippine islands as well as parts of Borneo - before it was designated a British protectorate in the 1800s.
Sabah became part of Malaysia in 1963, and the country still pays a token rent to the Sulu Sultanate each year.
Twelve were killed along with two Malaysian policemen when Malaysian security forces tried to tighten the cordon around the occupied village on Friday. The incident sparked violence in another area over the weekend, in which seven clan members and six policemen died.
The brother of the clan's leader, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, has said they are not violating any laws because Sabah is "owned by the sultan of Sulu" and insisted that they have a right to defend themselves if attacked.
However, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said over the weekend that its forces were authorised to "take any action deemed necessary".
After the army assault on the clan members was launched on Tuesday, Mr Najib said in a statement: "I have asserted that the intruders must surrender and if they refuse the authorities of this country will take action.
"The government has to take the right action in order to preserve the pride and sovereignty of this country," he added.
Sabah shares a sea border with the southern Philippines, which is home to a number of Islamic militant and kidnap-for ransom groups. The journey between the two can take only a few hours.
It formed part of the Sulu Sultanate - which once spread over several southern Philippine islands as well as parts of Borneo - before it was designated a British protectorate in the 1800s.
Sabah became part of Malaysia in 1963, and the country still pays a token rent to the Sulu Sultanate each year.
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