Malaysian cops negotiating with 'armed' Pinoys to avoid bloodshed — report
Malaysian police are holding negotiations with a group of allegedly armed Filipinos holed up in Lahad Datu in Sabah to get them to leave without bloodshed, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said on Thursday.
According to a report of Malaysia's The Star online news site, Najib said authorities had surrounded the area where the Filipinos were.
"The government is choosing to handle the issue through negotiation and to get the group to leave peacefully to prevent bloodshed ..." Najib said.
The Filipinos were believed to have landed in the Tambisan area in the east coast of Sabah over the past several days.
The Star report cited sources who said emissaries were sent to meet the key leaders of the Filipinos on Wednesday night.
Human shields?
The Star reported that Malaysian authorities — including the army, navy, maritime and police — had kept a tight security ring around the Filipinos at Tandurou at Felda Sahabat in Tungku.
The Star described the Filipinos as "heavily armed," adding that they may be holding civilians as human shields.
A Reuters report on Thursday said Malaysian police said in a statement that the situation was "under control", but did not say whether the men had agreed with a request to surrender.
"We are dealing with 100 armed foreigners from the southern Philippines. The army and the police have cordoned off the place where these foreigners are waiting," a high-ranking Malaysian government source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
He said the gunmen were suspected to be from a faction unhappy with the Philippines' recent peace deal with the main Muslim rebel group in southern Mindanao island.
However, a senior Philippine military official dismissed the Malaysian account of the group, saying they were unarmed Filipinos who had been promised land in Sabah.
He said a meeting over the land claim had attracted a large crowd and drawn the attention of Malaysian authorities.
In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine government is “still trying to ascertain and complete the facts of this incident.”
“Our security and defense officials are in touch with their Malaysian counterparts in this regard. We are also being assisted in this effort by our embassy,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said.
Conflicting reports
Meanwhile, the Star online cited "conflicting reports" quoting some intelligence officials who claimed “an explosive situation” had been brought under control and may have been resolved.
But it said no official confirmation has come from any of the top security agencies.
The report quoted villagers and Felda settlers who said some of the armed men had approached them asking for food and water.
"They were holding guns and we do not know why they were here," the report quoted a villager as saying. - with a report from Reuters/VVP, GMA News
According to a report of Malaysia's The Star online news site, Najib said authorities had surrounded the area where the Filipinos were.
"The government is choosing to handle the issue through negotiation and to get the group to leave peacefully to prevent bloodshed ..." Najib said.
The Filipinos were believed to have landed in the Tambisan area in the east coast of Sabah over the past several days.
The Star report cited sources who said emissaries were sent to meet the key leaders of the Filipinos on Wednesday night.
Human shields?
The Star reported that Malaysian authorities — including the army, navy, maritime and police — had kept a tight security ring around the Filipinos at Tandurou at Felda Sahabat in Tungku.
The Star described the Filipinos as "heavily armed," adding that they may be holding civilians as human shields.
A Reuters report on Thursday said Malaysian police said in a statement that the situation was "under control", but did not say whether the men had agreed with a request to surrender.
"We are dealing with 100 armed foreigners from the southern Philippines. The army and the police have cordoned off the place where these foreigners are waiting," a high-ranking Malaysian government source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.
He said the gunmen were suspected to be from a faction unhappy with the Philippines' recent peace deal with the main Muslim rebel group in southern Mindanao island.
However, a senior Philippine military official dismissed the Malaysian account of the group, saying they were unarmed Filipinos who had been promised land in Sabah.
He said a meeting over the land claim had attracted a large crowd and drawn the attention of Malaysian authorities.
In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine government is “still trying to ascertain and complete the facts of this incident.”
“Our security and defense officials are in touch with their Malaysian counterparts in this regard. We are also being assisted in this effort by our embassy,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said.
Conflicting reports
Meanwhile, the Star online cited "conflicting reports" quoting some intelligence officials who claimed “an explosive situation” had been brought under control and may have been resolved.
But it said no official confirmation has come from any of the top security agencies.
The report quoted villagers and Felda settlers who said some of the armed men had approached them asking for food and water.
"They were holding guns and we do not know why they were here," the report quoted a villager as saying. - with a report from Reuters/VVP, GMA News
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