President Benigno Aquino III said here Wednesday night he was not rushing the study of the Philippines’ complex claim to Sabah, arguing that any solution should be acceptable to all parties.
The Malaysian government’s Operasi Daulat (operation sovereignty) is coming to a close after a few more days as the object of the operations have now been nearly wiped, a top police officer in Sabah said Saturday.
Almost 5,000 Filipinos have fled Sabah since security forces launched an offensive to root out Islamic invaders loyal to a Sulu sultan, a government agency said Saturday.
With more than 5,000 pairs of eyes watching over the cordoned areas of Sabah, such as Lahad Datu, Tawau and Kunak, and surrounding waters and boundaries with other countries, how did a ragtag band of ill-equipped fighters skip detection and continue to roam about, or possibly escape, out of the Malaysian state?
The Philippine military intelligence is checking reports that the leader of the armed group from the sultanate of Sulu that sparked the Sabah crisis has returned and is hiding in southern Philippines.
Malaysia’s filing of terrorism and waging war charges against eight Filipinos “is illegal” and tantamount to “usurpation” of the powers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for the sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, said Thursday.
Malaysia brought criminal charges against eight Filipinos on Wednesday, more than two weeks after a standoff in Sabah between Malaysian security forces and an armed group from the sultanate of Sulu erupted into violence that killed 72 people.
Jul Asbi, the alleged Filipino recruiter of at least 100 armed followers of Esmail Dalus Kiram, was among those killed during a March 8 clash in Sabah, Malaysia, between the supporters of the Sultan Jamalul Kiram II and Malaysian security forces, according to the Philippine Coast Guard.
Tension remains high in Sabah and in southern Philippines areas close to the east Malaysian state as the hunt for Agbimuddin Kiram and his men continued for the 14th day Tuesday under the Malaysian government’s Operasi Daulat, security officials on both sides said.
Out of the roughly 27 Muslim youth allegedly summarily executed in 1968 in what is known as the Jabidah Massacre, only Jibin Arula survived to tell the tragedy.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is pushing for a diplomatic solution to the Sabah crisis, the Indonesian news agency Antara reported Monday.
Malaysian security forces twice clashed with the “royal army” during mopping-up operations in Tanjung Batu in Lahad Datu on Monday, Malaysian police Chief Insp. Gen. Ismail Omar said.
