KL ends offensive; Kiram forces staying in Sabah

From the Manila Standard Today (Jul 1): KL ends offensive; Kiram forces staying in Sabah

THE Sulu Sultanate said Sunday its men will stay put in Sabah despite the Malaysian government’s announcement that it has stopped its military operation against the followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.

Abraham Idjirani, Kiram’s spokesman, said Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, the sultan’s brother who commands the remaining Royal Security Forces in Sabah, had no plans to go back to the Philippines.

He described as “propaganda” the statement of Malaysian State Security Council chairman Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman that “Ops Daulat,” the offensive operation to flush out Kiram’s followers in Sabah, officially ended on Saturday.

“That is a propaganda to counter the  confirmed clashes between Raja Muda’s men and Malaysian security units on June 16 and 18,” Idjirani said.

Idjirani was referring to the two encounters in Labbiyaw and Dangan Tungko in Sabah, where Agbimuddin’s men battled Malaysian forces, the first reported clashes since the armed hostilities in Sabah ceased on the last week of March.

Idjirani said the Malaysian forces suffered “numerous casualties” during the shootout as reported by the Sultanate’s volunteer forces in Sabah.

“Their forces are in low morale because we killed many of them,” Idjirani said.
“So what they do is announce the end of the military offensive so as to create the impression that they have restored order in Sabah.”

In an article in Malaysia’s Star Online, Musa said the National Security Council had ordered the Eastern Sabah Security Command or ESSCOM to secure Sabah.

Musa said ESSCOM would now spearhead all operations from northern Kudat to southeastern Tawau to make Sabah’s eastern sea borders safe from threats under a new operational codename “Ops Sanggah.”

With the cessation of the military offensive, Idjirani said, the Sultanate’s Royal Security Forces and its volunteer forces would keep a defensive posture.

He said Agbimuddin and his forces would not dare start hostilities with the Malaysian forces because they were still observing the unilateral ceasefire declared by Kiram.
Idjirani said the Royal Security Forces had about 166 men reinforced by more than 1,000 “volunteers,” and that at least 80 percent of the forces were armed with high-powered firearms.

In February, a 200-man RSF unit sailed to Sabah to stake the sultanate’s claim on the territory. And on March 1, the Malaysian armed forces launched a week-long active military campaign against the RSF, which resulted in the death of 68 RSF men and 10 Malaysian soldiers and policemen.

The Sulu Sultanate regards Sabah as part of its territory, claiming the territory was illegally turned over to the Malaysian government when it gained independence in 1963.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/07/01/kl-ends-offensive-kiram-forces-staying-in-sabah/