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Malaysia to PHL: You have three days to claim your dead in Sabah 


Malaysian officials said their government has officially written to and asked the Philippines to claim the remains of Filipinos killed in an offensive against armed elements from Sulu, the Bernama news agency reported Friday.
 
"If there is no response in three days, we will go ahead and bury the dead, Police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib of Sabah said in a news conference in Lahad Datu.

"Security forces have crippled the movement of Sulu terrorists in Sabah, and its leader Agbimuddin Kiram has fled to the Philippines," Bernama also reported via its Twitter account.

Bernama also quoted Hamza as saying that the "security forces have so far detained 97 suspects and 233 people for trying to enter the operation zone of Ops Daulat."
 
Hamza said the three-day deadline has its basis in the Geneva Conventions.
 
The Sabah police chief said 61 Filipinos were dead after 11 days of the joint military-police operations in a plantation in Lahad Datu.
 
Hamza and Major General Datuk Ahmad Zaki of the Malaysian Army said that of of late Friday afternoon 27 of the remains have been taken out of the plantation and "10 more bodies have yet to be brought out of Kampung Tanjung Batu.
 
Hamza added that their personnel discovered 15 bodies and three gravesites in the operations zone. 

Hamza said the letter to the Philippine government was sent after post mortem work on the remains were completed.

Brother of Sultan Kiram 'flees to PHL'

The brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III has fled to the Philippines from Sabah after weeks of leading a group of armed Filipinos in engaging Malaysian security forces in deadly clashes, Malaysia's state-run Bernama news agency reported late Friday.
 
But Kiram's camp insisted Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram is still in Sabah, even as it dismissed the Bernama report as part of propaganda.

The spokesman of the Sultanate of Sulu, Abraham Idjirani, told GMA News reporter Cedrick Castillo in a phone interview that the revelations of the Malaysian officials about Kiram are "propaganda" issued because of the upcoming elections in Malaysia.
 
"Agbimuddin Kiram also known as Azzimudie Kiram is believed to have fled to the Philippines, leaving behind his followers in Lahad Datu, Sabah," Bernama said in a report.
 
It said this was due to the major offensive in Lahad Datu since March 5 that supposedly "crippled" Azzimudie's group "and forced its leader to abandon ship." 
 
At least 10 individuals were detained, including eight caught entering Sungai Bilis in Lahad Datu from the Philippines, and two taken into custody for allegedly collaborating with Kiram's followers.
 
But a separate report on Malaysia's The Star online said Kiram's camp denied the reports of Azzimudie fleeing Sabah.
 
"That is propaganda of Malaysia so as not to disturb their elections because their elections are nearing. It is a counter strategy," it quoted sultanate spokesman Abraham Idjirani as saying.
 
Besides, he said if Azzimudie returned to the Philippines, "he will only be arrested."
 
Idjirani said he last spoke to Azzimudie at 2 p.m. Friday, "and he is still in Sabah."

Arrests made

In other developments, at least two alleged collaborators of followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III were detained in Semporna in Sabah Thursday night, Malaysia's state-run Bernama news agency reported late Friday.
 
The Bernama report quoted Semporna police chief Mohd Firdaus Francis Abdullah as saying the two were caught at about 8 p.m. Thursday by police who were acting on a tip.
 
"The two are believed to have collaborated with the (Kiram followers) and we have taken them in for questioning," it quoted Firdaus as saying.
 
He described the two as in their 40s. He did not give further details on the two.
 
Firdaus said police are looking into whether the two were linked to the ambush on security forces in Kampung Simunul last March 2.
 
Malaysian security forces had been hunting down Kiram's followers since deadly clashes that began March 1. The Malaysians launched offensives against the group starting March 5.
 
8 filipinos held for entering pursuit ops area
 
Meanwhile, Malaysian police on Thursday midnight detained eight Filipinos aboard a speedboat for trying to enter the area where pursuit operations are ongoing against Kiram's followers.
 
A report on Malaysia's The Star Online said Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib described the men as aged between 17 to 29 years old.
 
"When the boat was searched, we found they were carrying 300 empty jerrycans and P369,000," he said.

He said the police detained the eight at the Sungai Bilis area at 12:15 a.m. Friday, and are questioning them for their motive in entering the area.
 
While Hamza said police did not find weapons from the group, he said the eight will be grilled for possibly violating immigration laws since had no identification paper with them.
 
The Star Online report said that if there is any sign linking the eight to Kiram's followers, they face investigation under the Security Ordinance and Special Measures Act 2012.   — ELR, GMA News

Tags: sabah, lahaddatu
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