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| Southeast Asia |
| ‘Sabah ready to face fleeing Abu Sayyaf terrorists’ |
| 2016-09-05 |
| [GLOBALNATION.INQUIRER.NET] Sabah is prepared to face the possibility of people from the southern region or the hunted Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... members fleeing to Sabah. The Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) is bracing itself for fleeing Abu Sayyaf faceless myrmidons into the state in view of the all-out war declared against them by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Esscom commander DCP Datuk Wan Abdul Bari Abdul Khalid said the state was prepared to face the possibility of the people from the southern region or the hunted Abu Sayyaf members fleeing to Sabah. He said some of them had already entered the state and have family ties with the local communities in Sabah. "We are keeping close watch and will take necessary action in due course," Wan Abdul Bari said. Welcoming the action taken by the Philippines government against the Abu Sayyaf, he said Esscom was doing all it could to monitor the situation and keep tabs on the latest developments while conducting daily surveillance on the national waters. He said the Esscom had daily operations on land and sea in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone) to ensure that the state stayed safe from any possible threats. Wan Abdul Bari added that Esscom personnel and assets had been directed to monitor any suspicious movements such as smuggling or possible cross border attacks. Esszone covers an area of 1,733.7km long and 100, 000 sq km comprising 10 districts namely Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pitas, Beluran, Kinabatangan, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna and Tawau. On Saturday, Duterte declared a nationwide "state of lawlessness" following a deadly kaboom at an open-air market in southern Davao City that killed at least 14 people and injured 67 during a presidential visit to his hometown. |
| Posted by:Fred |