March 14, 2013, photo released by Malaysia's Ministry of Defense, Malaysian soldiers discuss strategies at Sungai Nyamuk where a stand-off with Filipino gunmen took place, near Tanduo village in Lahad Datu, Borneo's Sabah state, Malaysia. Another Filipino fighter was killed on Sunday in a skirmish between Malaysian security forces and remnants of the so-called royal army of the sultanate of Sulu in Sabah. AP PHOTO/MALAYSIA'S MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
Malaysian troops suffered more casualties in Sabah assault
Malaysian forces have suffered more casualties than the group of Raja Muda Agbimmudin Kiram, the brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu, who led more than 200 followers of the sultanate in their "homecoming" in Sabah last month that led to an armed confrontation in Lahad Datu.
A Tribune source, who has links to the group of Raja Muda, claimed that Malaysian authorities have suffered more deaths than the Tausug warriors of the Royal Security Force of the Sulu sultanate since the armed conflict erupted last March 1 in Tanduao village, Lahad Datu.
The source also told the Tribune that the reported 61 fatalities on the group of Radja Muda were mostly innocent civilians.
"The Malaysian forces sustained many casualties, more than the group of Radja Muda," the source said.
The same source told the Tribune earlier that followers of the Kirams from Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan and Zamboanga Peninsula had sailed to Sabah to fight alongside their Tausug clansmen.
"They reported deaths on the group of the sultan but actually these are innocent civilians," he added.
According to the source, Malaysian authorities continuously conduct crackdown operations against suspected sympathizers of the Kirams in Sabah.
"The media could not go to the conflict area to gather information," he added.
The source also belied pronouncements by Malaysian authorities that Raja Muda has abandoned his followers and returned to Mindanao.
"He (Radja Muda) is still there. It's just part of Malaysian propaganda because they can't get him," the source said.
Fighting has subsided in Sabah during the past days compared to the intensified air and ground assaults launched by Malaysian forces during the first week of their so-called Operation Daulat.
But Malaysian online paper The Star reported a gun battle between security forces and remnants of the Sulu gunmen yesterday.
"Security forces killed another gunman at about 10.15 a.m. following skirmishes in Kg Tanjung Batu here," The Star quoted Army field commander Lt. Gen. Datuk Seri Zulkiple Kassim as saying.
"We believe they are still in the area and we have surrounded it," he added.
Malaysian authorities claimed that at least 61 followers of the Kirams, whom they branded as Sulu terrorists, had been killed while 97 others are now detained.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday said it would still continue to maintain its forces in Tawi-Tawi to assist in the ongoing humanitarian efforts for Filipino families displaced in the fighting in Sabah.
"We're going to continue maintaining the function of these assets for humanitarian purposes," AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said.
Around 34 Philippine Navy (PN) ships, a Lockheed C-130 "Hercules" cargo plane and two battalions of troops are currently deployed in Tawi-Tawi.
These military assets are primarily used in the transporting of displaced individuals, relief goods and medical supplies.
"With the enormity of the tasks, we can expect that additional manpower would be needed or deployed on the field," Burgos said. With PNA and Jason Faustino
As reported in The Daily Tribune read more here
