Sultan disputes casualty report
The Sultan says his followers have only suffered 10 casualties and the other may have been innocent Malaysian civilians.
(Agencies) – MANILA: The Sulu Sultanate on Friday disputed casualty figures released by Malaysian security forces, saying its “royal army” in Sabah had suffered only 10 fatalities, with 10 others captured and four injured.
“The royal security forces only clashed with Malaysian police commandos once and that happened on March 1. That’s why we call it the ‘March 1 Massacre,’” the sultanate’s spokesman Abraham Idjirani said in an interview with radio station dzMM.
Idjirani based his figures on reports from the brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Agbimuddin Kiram, who led the sultanate’s 235-member force that took over a remote village in Lahad Datu town in Sabah Feb. 9.
Idjirani said the 10 Sulu fighters died during the firefight on March 1, but after the clash Malaysian security forces claimed the violence spread the following day to the town of Semporna and 18 others, purportedly Filipino gunmen, were killed.
In the latest assault on Wednesday, Malaysia said they killed 32 followers of the sultan, bringing the total fatalities to 60, including 52 militants. Eight Malaysian policemen were killed in skirmishes last weekend.
The Manila Standardreports Idjirani as saying that Agbimudding dismissed the Malaysian reports as propaganda, and said some of the deaths might have been innocent Malaysian civilians.
He said the sultanate did not suffer additional fatalities because they became extra careful after the March 1 assault.
The Foreign Affairs Department, meanwhile, asked Kuala Lumpur for access to the 10 followers of the sultan who had been captured last week in Sabah, to ensure their humane treatment.
Department spokesman Raul Hernandez said the request was in line with the Vienna Convention on consular relations.
Malaysian security forces launched the offensive to evict Kiram’s supporters who entered Sabah’s coastal town of Lahad Datu by boat to assert the sultanate’s claim on the territory.
Kiram, whose ancestors once owned several islands in Mindanao and Northern Borneo, purportedly sent his followers to Sabah to reclaim their homeland.
Kiram has declared a unilateral ceasefire but said his men will remain in defensive mode. Malaysia rejected the temporary truce and demanded unconditional surrender of the Filipinos.
Hernandez said the Philippine government will continue to explore all avenues to reach a peaceful solution to the crisis and avoid further loss of lives.
