Wednesday, March 06, 2013

BBC: Malaysian Troops Hunt Filipino Clan

Malaysia troops hunt Filipino clan in Sabah stand-off

Residents leave their village in Tanjung Labian near Tanduo, where Malaysia launched airstrikes and mortar attacks against nearly 200 Filipinos occupying a Borneo coastal village on 5 March 2013 Residents have left their homes in some places amid fears of further clashes

Related Stories

Malaysian troops are searching houses and terrain for armed members of a Filipino clan embroiled in a three-week conflict in Sabah on Borneo island.

On Tuesday, Malaysia launched an attack on the group using both ground troops and fighter jets.
But a spokesman for the 200-strong Filipino group, who lay claim to the area, said they escaped the attack.

The conflict has already left at least 27 people dead, and put pressure on both governments to resolve the crisis.

The Filipinos landed at a coastal village in Sabah's Lahad Datu district last month, saying that 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.

Since then violence has erupted on two occasions and in two locations, leaving eight members of the Malaysian security forces and 19 clan members dead.

Malaysian officials confirmed late on Tuesday that they had not found any of the clan members during Tuesday's operation.

"Follow-up action and house-to-house searches" were taking place on Wednesday, state news agency Bernama said.
BBC Map
Gunfire was exchanged in a hilly area early on Wednesday, Malaysian officials said, with one clan member believed to have been shot. It is not clear whether the clan member was killed.
"The mopping and searching will cover a wider area given there are signs the intruders moved to another location," Malaysian National Police Chief Ismail Omar told reporters.
"The security forces are tracking down their movements and will take the appropriate action."
Bernama also quoted him as saying that the Filipinos were now "impersonating as members of the public" to evade Malaysian troops.

For their part, the Philippines' Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that "we do not have information on the number of casualties from the latest assault".

In the statement, the ministry said that the foreign minister "continued seeking the exercise of maximum tolerance to avert further loss of lives".

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario returned to Manila late on Tuesday after holding two days of talks with his counterpart in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia's trade minister says violence will not hit investment

"We did everything, we walked the last mile. We intend to fully continue this effort," local media quoted him as saying.

The Manila-based leader of the Filipino clan, Jamalul Kiram III, said in a statement on Tuesday that they were prepared to "fight to the last man" and would not surrender.

The stand-off poses a challenge to both governments. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has come under increasing domestic pressure to end the incursion, while the Philippine government is facing calls to do more to protect the Filipino group.

Sabah 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.

More on This Story

Related Stories

PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association or Petpositive. Our stories are CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then are now 150,000 and ever increasing! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Kindly note that views expressed in PET+BLOGSPOT are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.com.my You can also find us in Facebook under PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Please sign up as a FOLLOWER of this Blog if you haven't done so already in order to show us your kind support for our work. Thank you!

No comments: