Clashes between Malaysian forces and Filipino gunmen killed four in the eastern state of Sabah on Tuesday, as thousands of troops were hunting a group of armed followers of a Philippine sultan laying claim on the land.
One soldier and three Filipino people were killed in clashes in the village of Sungai Nyamuk in Lahad Datu, 1,600 kilometres east of Kuala Lumpur, armed forces chief Gen Zulkifeli Zin said.
The deaths brought the death toll to 67 since the fighting started on March 1.
The crisis began Feb 12 when more than 200 followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III set up camp in the village of Tanduo to assert the sultanate's historical claim on the land.
The sultanate leased Sabah in 1878 to the British North Borneo Co, which then passed it to Malaysia after Malaysia's independence. Kuala Lumpur currently pays the sultan 5,300 ringgit (1,680 US dollars) per year in rent.
The Filipinos have splintered into small groups to evade the security forces, Kiram family spokesman Abraham Idjirani said in Manila.
Their supplies are running low, Idjirani quoted Sulu crown prince Agbimuddin, Kiram's younger brother and the leader of the group, as telling him by telephone Tuesday.
"His group is in a safe place and in good condition, but they have problem finding food due to a blockade imposed by Malaysian security forces," he told a local radio station in Manila.
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/03/12/four-killed-in-north-borneo-standoff/
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