KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — The Sulu Sultanate today called for a
ceasefire as more of its soldiers fall from gunfights in Sabah,
promising that its army will lay down arms and take on a defensive
stance if Malaysia’s security forces agree to do the same.
According to a series of postings on Philippine news network ABN-CBS’s Twitter page this afternoon, the Sultanate’s spokesman Abraham Idjirani told a press conference in the Philippines that the call for a ceasefire was to avoid more bloodshed and “crimes against Filipinos” in the conflict zone.
“The call for ceasefire is in view of deaths of followers in Sabah,” Idjirani said, adding that the call was effective as at 12.30pm today.
“Sulu
sultan says followers will not take action but will stay where they
are,” he added, referring to the self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul
Kiram III (picture).
Idjirani said the Kiram clan, who this morning said they have not heard from their army in Sabah since yesterday morning, hopes Malaysia will heed their call for a ceasefire.
“Royal army will take a defensive stance,” he added, according to the tweets. “The families will fetch their relatives in Sabah once Malaysia heeds call for ceasefire.”
In ABN-CBS’s report on its website, Idjirani said the Sultanate’s call for an end to the violence was also due to reports that the mop-up operation by Malaysian troops had even led to the death of a newborn baby at a prison cell.
The network reported that Idjirani admitted that by taking a defensive stance, the Sulu army would be placing themselves at a disadvantage, but the spokesman said this was to show the world “that the sultan and the sultanate are observing Islamic tolerance”.
It was reported earlier today that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called for an end to the clashes in Sabah between Malaysian security forces and Sulu gunmen who had intruded the state, saying that the matter should be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
“The Secretary-General is closely following the situation in Sabah, Malaysia. He urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation,” Ban’s spokesman said in a brief two-paragraph statement dated yesterday.
In the same statement carried on the UN website, Ban’s spokesman said the UN chief “expresses concern about the impact this situation may have on the civilian population, including migrants in the region.
“He urges all parties to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance and act in full respect of international human rights norms and standards,” the statement said.
The call for dialogue could likely be seen as giving legitimacy to the estimated 200-odd Filipino rebels in Sabah — a group said to be followers of Jamalul, one of the nine claimants to the Sulu Sultanate.
The Philippine media have placed the death toll in Sabah at 40, including eight Malaysian policemen, with more reports streaming in that more Filipino militants are falling at the hands of security forces here.
Idjirani has also conceded that at least 10 of the Sultanate’s fighters in Sabah are dead, 10 others captured and a further four are wounded from the fierce gunfights in the coastal Lahad Datu district.
According to the spokesman on a report on ABN-CBS’s news website, Agbimuddin Kiram, the brother of Jamalul, had counted 10 missing from his crew after they regrouped.
Agbimuddin is leading the group of 235 soldiers from the Sultanate’s “royal security force” in Lahad Datu, where they landed on February 9 to stake their claim over the north Borneo territory.
Information on the number of Filipino militants captured or killed so far has not been verified by Malaysian officials.
According to a report in The Star today, Malaysian police have detained dozens of suspected sympathisers of the gunmen in Sabah, including even relatives of Agbimuddin, one of whom is believed to have played an advisory role to the Sulu group.
Malaysia kicked off an all-out assault on the militants in a dawn aerial attack on Tuesday, raining down bombs and heavy artillery fire on Kampung Tanduo from 7am, before deploying ground troops to secure the perimeter.
But the massive strike had reportedly failed to hit its target as news poured in to the Kiram clan in the Philippines that Agbimuddin and his followers had not been hit.
According to news reports, the crown prince had then called home to say that the bombs were 1km off-target, adding that his clan of rebels were on the run, but battle-ready.
The last communication between the Kiram brothers was yesterday morning, where Agbimuddin reportedly told Jamalul that his men were still unharmed and in hiding.
Source themalaysianinsider
According to a series of postings on Philippine news network ABN-CBS’s Twitter page this afternoon, the Sultanate’s spokesman Abraham Idjirani told a press conference in the Philippines that the call for a ceasefire was to avoid more bloodshed and “crimes against Filipinos” in the conflict zone.
“The call for ceasefire is in view of deaths of followers in Sabah,” Idjirani said, adding that the call was effective as at 12.30pm today.
“Sulu
sultan says followers will not take action but will stay where they
are,” he added, referring to the self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul
Kiram III (picture).Idjirani said the Kiram clan, who this morning said they have not heard from their army in Sabah since yesterday morning, hopes Malaysia will heed their call for a ceasefire.
“Royal army will take a defensive stance,” he added, according to the tweets. “The families will fetch their relatives in Sabah once Malaysia heeds call for ceasefire.”
In ABN-CBS’s report on its website, Idjirani said the Sultanate’s call for an end to the violence was also due to reports that the mop-up operation by Malaysian troops had even led to the death of a newborn baby at a prison cell.
The network reported that Idjirani admitted that by taking a defensive stance, the Sulu army would be placing themselves at a disadvantage, but the spokesman said this was to show the world “that the sultan and the sultanate are observing Islamic tolerance”.
It was reported earlier today that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called for an end to the clashes in Sabah between Malaysian security forces and Sulu gunmen who had intruded the state, saying that the matter should be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
“The Secretary-General is closely following the situation in Sabah, Malaysia. He urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation,” Ban’s spokesman said in a brief two-paragraph statement dated yesterday.
In the same statement carried on the UN website, Ban’s spokesman said the UN chief “expresses concern about the impact this situation may have on the civilian population, including migrants in the region.
“He urges all parties to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance and act in full respect of international human rights norms and standards,” the statement said.
The call for dialogue could likely be seen as giving legitimacy to the estimated 200-odd Filipino rebels in Sabah — a group said to be followers of Jamalul, one of the nine claimants to the Sulu Sultanate.
The Philippine media have placed the death toll in Sabah at 40, including eight Malaysian policemen, with more reports streaming in that more Filipino militants are falling at the hands of security forces here.
Idjirani has also conceded that at least 10 of the Sultanate’s fighters in Sabah are dead, 10 others captured and a further four are wounded from the fierce gunfights in the coastal Lahad Datu district.
According to the spokesman on a report on ABN-CBS’s news website, Agbimuddin Kiram, the brother of Jamalul, had counted 10 missing from his crew after they regrouped.
Agbimuddin is leading the group of 235 soldiers from the Sultanate’s “royal security force” in Lahad Datu, where they landed on February 9 to stake their claim over the north Borneo territory.
Information on the number of Filipino militants captured or killed so far has not been verified by Malaysian officials.
According to a report in The Star today, Malaysian police have detained dozens of suspected sympathisers of the gunmen in Sabah, including even relatives of Agbimuddin, one of whom is believed to have played an advisory role to the Sulu group.
Malaysia kicked off an all-out assault on the militants in a dawn aerial attack on Tuesday, raining down bombs and heavy artillery fire on Kampung Tanduo from 7am, before deploying ground troops to secure the perimeter.
But the massive strike had reportedly failed to hit its target as news poured in to the Kiram clan in the Philippines that Agbimuddin and his followers had not been hit.
According to news reports, the crown prince had then called home to say that the bombs were 1km off-target, adding that his clan of rebels were on the run, but battle-ready.
The last communication between the Kiram brothers was yesterday morning, where Agbimuddin reportedly told Jamalul that his men were still unharmed and in hiding.
Source themalaysianinsider
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