LATEST PHOTO REPORT ON SABAH "STAND OFF" WITH TAUSUGS FROM SULU

Malaysia's General Operations Force (GOF) creating a security ring around Tanduo village where armed Sabah "invaders" from Sulu are holding out.

Policemen man a road block leading to Kampung Tanduo, the area where armed group from Sulu are holed up, outside Lahad Datu in Sabah on February 18, 2013. — Reuters 

Malaysian Army elements in full battle gear in Tanduo, Sabah where armed Tausugs from Sulu are holed up.

Sabah police chief Hamza Taib being interviewed

Sabah Police chief Hamza Taib was quoted by local dailies as saying that police were negotiating with the group and expected the standoff to be resolved “very soon with the group returning to their home country.”

Malaysian police have set up a series of roadblocks along the route leading from Lahad Datu through palm oil plantations to the remote village where the gunmen are. Marine police were also patrolling the sea.

Reports identified the leader of the armed group as Raja Muda Azzimudie Kiram, former assistant district officer of Kudat during the time of former chief minister Tun Datu Mustapha Harun from 1967 to 1976.

Azzimudie, who was dressed in white robes, has yet to respond to requests by emissaries to “go home.” - Free Malaysia Today (Sabah newspaper) 18 Feb 2013. 

~~ Sabah Claim Society