Bloomberg, 6 Mar 2013Malaysian security forces found the bodies of 13 Philippine Muslims who invaded the eastern state of Sabah last month as they continued searching for more than 200 insurgents following an aerial and ground assault.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein gave the death toll on Malaysia’s TV3, which broadcast pictures of some of the bodies in graves. Earlier yesterday, Fatima Kiram, the wife of self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram, said his 214 followers in Sabah survived the barrage and are receiving support from Filipinos who live in the state.
The battle to regain control of territory on Borneo Island that the sultanate lost more than a century ago erupted weeks before elections in both countries. It also comes as Philippine President Benigno Aquino aims to conclude a peace deal with a Muslim separatist group that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak helped to broker. Full story
