In a major assault early this morning, Malaysian security forces launched air strikes and ground attacks to flush out the armed Philipino group, which was holed up in a remote village in Sabah state.
Malaysian forces are securing the village which was in the hands of about 100 armed men of the self-styled ailing Sulu Sultan who had insisted his brother, who led the group, to stay in Tanduo till the end despite extended deadlines given to them to give up and go home, Star online reported.
Negotiations to peacefully resolve the standoff failed and jets pounded the village, followed by elite the police teams who went in to finish the job, reports said.
The inspector general of the police told reporters that there were no casualty among the Malaysian side but the casualty numbers for the gunmen is still unknown. The situation in all parts of east coast Sabah was described as under control by the police and the army is on high alert at strategic locations to meet any retaliation.
As there have been threats of retaliation from the Sulu Sultan’s followers if the Sulu intruders are defeated. Earlier, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced in the morning that attacks have began to flush out the remaining group of armed Sulu gunmen.
This week, eight Malaysian policemen have been killed in clashes with the armed Filipinos, while 19 Filipinos have died in the standoff. Reports said artillery fire had stopped and the fighter jets were believed to have done their job.
No more explosions were being heard, Star online said. Jets were not seen flying over Tanduo village that has been pounded by heavy firepower since 7 am.
The situation around Tanjung Labian, about 7km away from Tanduo village was tense as more than 300 villagers huddled in a community hall kept hearing the explosions, Star online said. Security forces rolled in heavy equipment yesterday into a remote corner of a large vast plantation, where the members of self-proclaimed royal Sulu Sultanate Army have been in a standoff with Malaysian troops for three weeks.
Najib said the government has taken the necessary action to “defend honour and sovereignty of the country.” He said Malaysia was an Islamic country that loved peace and that sought to always to resolve conflict through diplomacy. “But our effort to avoid bloodshed has failed.”
The premier said that after the first attack, he had warned the intruders to surrender, failing which the authorities would take action. Najib had earlier tweeted, calling on Malaysians to rally behind “our brave security forces”, with the hope that the situation would be resolved soon.
“The Safety of Sabahans is our priority,” he added. Meanwhile, Philippines foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario will hold talks with his Malaysian counterpart in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the situation.