Manila disputes report of killings near Malaysia
The Philippine military disputed a newspaper report that its naval and coast guard forces killed 35 gunmen to stop them from entering the Malaysian state of Sabah.
The Philippine military disputed a newspaper report that its naval and coast guard forces killed 35 gunmen to stop them from entering the Malaysian state of Sabah.
The Philippine Navy on Thursday denied a report in a Malaysian news website, saying they shot 35 armed men from Sulu who were trying to enter Sabah.
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.
Malaysia has vowed not to stop until it gets Agbimuddin Kiram, leader of an armed group from Sulu whose incursion into Sabah last month has taken the lives of dozens of Filipinos and Malaysians.
The Malaysian government is allegedly suppressing information on the events in Sabah.
Malaysian police shot dead a teenager and injured a man Sunday as they tried to end a month-long incursion by Filipino gunmen in remote Sabah that has seen 62 people killed.
At least 93 civil society groups, mainly from the Philippines and Malaysia, have called for the declaration a “humanitarian ceasefire” for the sake of affected civilians in Sabah.
Malacañang on Sunday decried the reported brutality suffered by Filipinos at the hands of Malaysian authorities cracking down on supporters of the Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in Sabah.
Nearly 40 people were taken into custody in less than 24 hours as of 8 a.m. Sunday as Malaysian security forces continued their sweep of suspected local supporters of the Sulu “royal army” in at least three Sabah areas.
Another Sulu fighter was shot dead by Malaysian security forces on Saturday, bringing to 53 the number of Filipinos killed in the skirmishes to end a monthlong incursion into Sabah by armed followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.
Another sultan of Sulu has come forward, and his representatives say he is the real heir to the throne of Sulu.
Malaysian police on Friday denied rumors that more Filipinos have entered Sabah to reinforce the embattled Sulu “royal army.”
