Malaysia launches air strikes against 200-man force of sultan

From Malaya (Mar 5): Malaysia launches air strikes against 200-man force of sultan

MALAYSIA yesterday launched air strikes and mortar attacks against the nearly 200 members the “royal army” of the Sultanate of Sulu who have been occupying a village in Sabah to end a bizarre three-week siege that turned into a security nightmare for both Malaysia and the Philippines.

The assault follows firefights in Malaysia’s eastern Sabah state this past week that killed eight police officers and 19 Filipino gunmen.

The Malaysian Army has deployed seven battalions to Sandakan and Lahad Datu for the offensive. Malaysian National police chief Ismail Omar said Malaysian security forces suffered no casualties in Tuesday’s offensive, but he did not give details about the Filipinos. As of Tuesday night, wire reports said nobody from the Philippine side has been found.

Air strikes “achieved their objectives in accordance to the targets,” while ground forces who encountered resistance from gunmen firing at them were carrying out “mopping up” operations by searching houses in the village, Ismail said, without elaborating on how many have been detained.

“The government has to take the appropriate action to protect national pride and sovereignty as our people have demanded,” Prime Minister Najib Razak said after the raid began, in a statement issued through the national news agency, Bernama.

Authorities made every effort to resolve the siege peacefully since the presence of the group in Lahad Datu district became known on February 12, including holding talks to encourage the intruders to leave without facing any serious legal repercussions, Najib said.

“The longer this intrusion persisted, it became clear to the authorities that the intruders had no intention to leave Sabah,” Najib said. “As a peace-loving Islamic country that upholds efforts to settle conflicts through negotiations, our struggle to avoid bloodshed in Lahad Datu did not work.”

In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the air strikes and assault. DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario asked his Malaysian counterpart, Anifah Aman, during a meeting at midnight Monday, to establish a safety corridor for Filipino women and children in Sabah who are not involved in the armed conflict.

Hernandez said the request for a safety corridor is still under consideration by the Malaysian government.

Malaysia also has yet to respond to the government’s request to give clearance to a Navy humanitarian ship to dock in Lahad Datu to provide consular and medical assistance to Filipino victims of the standoff.

In his statement in Kuala Lumpur, Del Rosario said: “We came to Malaysia to endeavor to walk that last mile to try to save lives in this unfortunate conflict. We intend to fully continue this effort.”

Del Rosario arrived in Manila last night and reported straight to President Aquino in Malacañang.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Del Rosario met with Aquino for around 15 minutes and briefed him on his discussions with Anifah. He did not give details.

The DFA also took the occasion to condemn the spate of cyber attacks of Malaysian and Philippine websites amid the clash between the Sulu men and Malaysian forces over Sabah.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesman of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, said the sultan’s brother, Rajah Mudda (crown prince) Agbimuddin Kiram who led the armed group in Sabah, told him in their phone conversation that fighter aircraft dropped bombs in Lahad Datu in the village that they had already abandoned.

Idjirani said Agbimuddin Kiram told them that the aircraft has been circling Lahad Datu since Monday morning. He said their leader was safe.

“Nagtataka nga si Rajah Mudda na ang bomba ay bumabagsak doon sa position ng Malaysian forces. This could be a friendly fire incident,” Idjirani said, adding that the position being hit by the bombs were previously held by Rajah Mudda’s men.

“Baka akala nila andun pa sa position na yun ang Rajah Mudda kaya dun binabagsak ang mga bomba,” he said.

He added that even the small-arms fire that followed the air strike was not hitting the Agbimuddin Kiram’s position.
“They can hear the sounds of bombs and the exchange of fire,” Idjirani said. “The truth is they are nervous. Who will not be nervous when you are against all odds?”

He said they will “find a way to sneak to safety.”

“If this is the last stand that we could take to let the world know about our cause, then let it be,” Idjirani said, describing the assault as “overkill.”

He said fellow ethnic Tausugs and Filipino immigrants sympathetic to their cause have been supplying Agbimuddin Kiram’s forces with weapons and provisions.

But he said the groups of armed men who have reportedly landed in Sabah to reinforce the sultanate forces went there voluntarily.

“If the Sultan had known about, he would stop them because he still wants to resolve this matter peacefully,” Idjirani said.

International law expert and UP law professor Harry Roque Jr. said Malaysia’s air strikes against the followers of the Sulu sultan are illegal under international human rights law, while the use of force in police operations should be absolutely necessary and strictly proportional to the threat posed by the Filipinos in Sabah.

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