PATROLLING......Handout file photo of
Malaysian soldiers patrolling Sungai Nyamuk, a village adjacent to Kampung
Tanduo where troops stormed the camp of the armed Filipino group, in Lahad
Datu, Sabah on March 12, 2013.
KUALA LUMPUR : An extra
1,000 gunmen from the southern Philippines have broken through the sea blockade
into Sabah to add muscle to Sulu rebel leader Agbimuddin Kiram’s fight against
Malaysian security forces, The Philippine Star reported today.
A representative from the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Emmanuel Fontanilla, told the daily the
fighters had been readying for battle since the onset of the conflict and
managed to slip past the Philippine and Malaysian navies by moving in small
groups.
“As per information, the
armed men arrived in small batches,” he was quoted as saying.
The paper said it was
unknown if the latest group had joined in fresh clashes in Lahad Datu last
week, when an earlier band of 100 Filipinos landed on Sabah’s east coast to
reinforce the so-called Sulu sultanate in its renewed bid to reclaim the state.
The elusive Agbimuddin, who
believes himself to be the heir of a defunct sultanate, has been waging a
guerilla battle against Malaysian security forces since arriving in Sabah on
February 9 to stake his clan’s 17th-century ownership of the north Borneo
state.
More than 60 Sulus have been
reported killed in the violent conflict enveloping Sabah’s east coast that have
also snuffed out the lives of eight Malaysian policemen and two soldiers.
Malaysian security forces
have also captured more than 100 Sulus believed linked to the gunmen, and
slapped several with terror charges.
Some 5,000 Filipinos have
returned to their homeland since the Sabah crisis began in February, with tales
of human rights abuses that have enraged fellow Philippine citizens and
lawmakers.
The Philippine Senate has
demanded its government hold Malaysia accountable for the possible human rights
violations on the 800,000-strong Filipino migrant community in Sabah at the
hands of local authorities searching for a ragtag band of Sulu militants
claiming ownership of the north Borneo state.
The volatile situation in
Sabah appears to be election fodder with both the Philippines and Malaysia
readying for national polls this year.
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