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Malaysia, Indonesia allowed ‘hot pursuit’ of Abu Sayyaf
[Gulf Today] A top military official disclosed that their counterparts in Indonesia and Malaysia have been allowed to enter Philippine territory while in "hot pursuit" of Abu Sayyaf militants and other rebel groups.Major General Carlito Galvez said allowing the presence of Indonesian and Malaysian troops in maritime areas of common concern is contained in an agreement signed by the three countries in 2016. He explained, "Based on the agreement, we can allow the hot pursuit to neutralise the threat (by the Abu Sayyaf) provide there is prior co-ordination," as he revealed security forces arrested the leader of a rebel group and killed another during operations in Sulu. He added the three countries are also planning to designate an area for the deployment and naval and air force "multi-forces" on a rotational basis. According to Galvez, the Philippines and Indonesia have an existing agreement but will include Malaysia because the area utilized by pirates and the Abu Sayyaf are the Celebes and Sulu Seas. On Monday, security forces rescued the three of the five Malaysian crewmen of a tugboat abducted by the rebels and held captive by the Abu Sayyaf off the Malaysian state of Sabah in August 2016. In a related development, Galvez reported the arrest of the leader of a criminal group suspected of providing arms to the Abu Sayyaf as well as the slaying of his follower. The leader, identified as Saudi Hadja, was nabbed after he and his men clashed with government forces on an island off the coastal town of Omar in Sulu. In addition to being wanted for arson and murder, Galvez said that military intelligence tagged Hadja as the source of major weapons to the Abu Sayyaf. Posted by: ryuge 2017-04-04 |
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