10 Penceroboh Lahad Datu, 2 Polis Maut Dalam Pertempuran

Laporan dari portal online Filipina menyebut 10 penceroboh maut manakala 4 lagi cedera dalam pertempuran antara pihak keselamatan Malaysia dengan puak penceroboh. Menurut laporan Bernama pula, 2 polis komando dilaporkan terbunuh dalam serangan mortar oleh puak penceroboh.

Ketegangan berlaku setelah tempoh memujuk untuk menyerah diri berakhir dan berbagai tawaran supaya mereka keluar dari kawasan kedaulatan Malaysia dibuat termasuk dengan kerjasama Filipina menghantar kapal angkatan lautnya untuk membawa mereka pulang ke Filipina.

Sebelum ini, pihak Reuters melaporkan bahawa pihak Filipina mendakwa bahawa para penceroboh yang mengakui Tentera Diraja Sultan Sulu bagi Sultan Kiram III yang kini menetap di Manila telah bertanggungjawab membawa masuk segerombolan dipercayai tokoh-tokoh penduduk Kepulauan Sulu di Filipina atas jemputan pihak pembangkang yang tidak disebutkan siapa, bagi membincangkan isu pemberian tanah kepada mereka di bumi Sabah.

Kerajaan Malaysia perlu mendesak Kerajaan Filipina menahan Sultan Kiram III dan disabitkan dengan undang-undang yang terpakai di sana dalam hal ini.

Peperangan telah dimulakan dan dipercayai inilah pertempuran paling sengit pernah berlaku di negara ini selepas Parti Komunis Malaya meletakkan senjata pada 2 Disember 1989.

10 killed 4 injured in Sabah firefight

By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
1:15 pm | Friday, March 1st, 2013

MANILA, Philippines—At least 10 people died while four others were injured when a firefight broke out between the "royal army" of Sulu and Malaysian forces in Lahad Datu village in Sabah, the daughter of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III said Friday.

Among those wounded is a woman, Princess Jaycel Kiram said in press conference in Manila.

She said the information was relayed to the royal family by Rajah Muda, brother of the sultan and leader of the group that sailed from Mindanao to Lahad Datu on February 12 to stake a territorial claim on Sabah.

The exchange of gunfire began at around 6 a.m. Friday when the Malaysian forces inched closer to the place where the group, which includes about 30 gunmen according to Filipino authorities,  has been holed up, Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for the Sultan of Sulu, said at the press conference.
The group has no intention to leave the area despite the firefight, the sultan stressed.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that shots were fired but denied reports there were casualties.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez told ABS-CBN network that the gunfire had stopped and there were no casualties.
"What he (Philippine ambassador to Malaysia) relayed to Secretary del Rosario was that this incident happened earlier, and thank God there were no casualties," Hernandez said.

Scores of followers of Sultan Kiram have been facing off with Malaysian security forces in Lahad Datu village for more than two weeks. With Radyo Inquirer and Agence France-Presse

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