Publication Date : 06-03-2013
Crack troops move in; Filipino militia claims insurgent leader is unharmed
Malaysia called in fighter-attack aircraft and artillery to pound a remote village in eastern Sabah yesterday before moving in crack troops to clear the area.
It was the toughest move yet by Prime Minister Najib Razak to quell a Filipino insurgent militia whose almost month-long occupation of the area has shaken the eastern wing of the country.
Just after dawn yesterday, Sabah's rich bird life scattered as the first mortar shells whistled past before exploding around the militants' holdout in Tanduo.
Seconds later, the air force's F/A-18 Hornets and Hawks swooped low to slam munitions from the air.
After the bombing stopped, commandos moved in to search for survivors, following soldiers in armoured personnel carriers.
"I believe the enemies are still out there," Malaysian police chief Ismail Omar told reporters in Lahad Datu, a half-hour drive from the scene of the action. "Mopping up operations are going on. We do not know if some of the gunmen fled to other villages."
He said there were no casualties on the side of the government forces. But with no word on bodies discovered, it was unclear if militants had been killed either.
Spokesmen for Filipino Jamalul Kiram, who claims to be the rightful "Sulu sultan", said the Malaysian military had not succeeded in their mission and their militia chieftain was unharmed.
"They attacked a camp previously occupied by Azzimudie Kiram," Abraham Idjirani told a Philippine website, referring to the leader of the insurgents. "About 7,000 troops attacked the place. Kiram and his men are safe and far away."
Yesterday's military action capped three weeks of tension in eastern Sabah. This started after some 180 to 300 Sunni Muslim militia arrived from the southern Philippines to occupy what they claimed to be traditional lands belonging to the self-styled sultan of Sulu and North Borneo.
More than 30 people, including police, died in the violence that followed. Among the eight dead policemen were senior officials of the Malaysian Special Branch.
The ferocity of the invaders, and Kuala Lumpur's cautious response as it weighed the political and diplomatic implications of the assault, spread panic in idyllic, sparsely populated Sabah.
Here in the state capital this week, many kept their children from school and stocked up on provisions.
Analysts said firm political support from Philippine President Benigno Aquino, who demanded that the rebels surrender, helped PM Najib take strong action. On Monday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario flew into the Malaysian capital for talks.
"The government must take action to defend the country's dignity and sovereignty as demanded by the people," PM Najib said as the attack commenced.
Even so, several dozen protesters appeared before the gates of the Malaysian Embassy in Manila. Government leaders in Kuala Lumpur and Manila have suggested that opposition figures in their countries may have been behind the incursion to embarrass their governments ahead of key polls.
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