The Philippine gunmen had occupied a village in Sabah in an attempt to stake the Sulu “sultanate’s” claim over the state. — Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, March 27 ― The crackdown against Sulu militants who invaded Sabah has turned into a protracted, low-intensity conflict akin to hunting for fish in water, Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said yesterday.
Philippine daily Manila Standard Today’s (MST) website quoted Gazmin today as saying that 12 battalions of soldiers and policemen, or more than 7,000 men, were searching for Sulu “crown prince” Agbimuddin Kiram and the remnants of his armed group.
“A low-intensity conflict is like looking for fish in water. When you’re hunting fish, the water is your enemy,” Gazmin was quoted as saying today.
The head of the Philippine Department of National Defence added that Agbimuddin, who is a brother of self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, has yet to be found in the Philippines.
Malaysian Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said last Thursday that Agbimuddin has fled Sabah and was believed to be island-hopping in southern Philippines, seeking shelter.
“Remember, the Raja Muda has been there for quite some time and he has been moving in and out of Malaysia,” said Gazmin, referring to Agbimuddin.
“So he knows the terrain, he has a lot of relatives, once upon a time he was an officer of a barangay so he knows the area. There are actually 12 battalions looking for him,” he added.
Jamalul ordered his followers still in Sabah last week to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Malaysian security forces.
Agbimuddin led a group of 235 armed militants to Lahad Datu, Sabah, on February 9 to stake the sultanate’s claim over the north Borneo state.
As of last Friday, the incursion has resulted in the deaths of 63 Sulu militants, according to figures from Malaysian security forces, as well as 10 Malaysians, including eight policemen and two soldiers.
Malaysia launched “Ops Daulat” on March 5 to flush out the armed southern Filipinos after weeks of negotiation failed to result in a peaceful resolution.
Manila has said it will not abandon the sultanate’s claim over Sabah, even as Malaysian authorities insist the claim is no longer valid due to the inclusion of the state in the 1963 Malaysia agreement.
Source: themalaysianinsider.com
