KOTA KINABALU : Malaysian security forces are on full alert along its borders in the east coast of Sabah following trouble in southern Philippines.
Hundreds of armed men who claimed to be from the Moro National Liberation Front attacked several cities in Zamboanga this morning.
Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) director general Datuk Mohammad Mentek said operations are on full alert following the attack.
"We are monitoring the situation closely and at the same time we are coordinating our safety and security measures on our end," he said.
The MNLF led by former Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao governor Nur Misuari launched the offensive this morning.
Reports from the Philippine media claimed the armed men moved from the coastal villages in the Santa Barbara area in Zamboanga.
At least one policeman was killed, eight injured and 20 people were taken hostage in the city where schools and offices were ordered closed.
Combat police forces take positions at a village in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines September 9, 2013, where security forces and members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels were fighting. Rebels took 30 civilian hostages in the southern Philippines on Monday and held security forces in a standoff as part of a drive to derail peace talks, officials said. Police commandos cordoned off parts of Zamboanga City on the island of Mindanao after a rogue faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) took hostages and tried to march to the city hall to raise their flag, an army commander said. REUTERS
Security forces walks past debris scattered on a street after rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) clashed with government troops in Zamboanga city, southern Philippines September 9, 2013. Rebels took 30 civilian hostages in the southern Philippines on Monday and held security forces in a standoff as part of a drive to derail peace talks, officials said. Police commandos cordoned off parts of Zamboanga City on the island of Mindanao after a rogue faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) took hostages and tried to march to the city hall to raise their flag, an army commander said. REUTERS
Malaysian security forces have dismissed claims by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that some 4,000 foreign-trained Tausug fighters embedded in Sarawak and Sabah have been activated.
Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscomn) director-general Datuk Mohammad Mentek said there was no such thing and they believed that it was part of the group's propaganda to create suspicion and fear among Malaysians.
"Our early intelligence indicates that it is a bluff. There is no such thing," he said when contacted on Monday on reports in the Philippines media claiming that the so-called MNLF sleepers, known as the Bangsa Moro Army, were being activated in wake of the MNLF attack on Zamboanga City on Monday.
The reports quoting MNLF spokesman Emmanuel Fontanilla said the mobilisation of the fighters was to protect Tausugs, who he claimed have been the subject of a crackdown by Malaysian security forces recently.
Fontanilla said the MNLF fighters were in addition to the Sulu Sultanate Army led by Agbimuddin Kiram, the brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, who led the Lahad Datu intrusion in Sabah.
Mohammad, however, said that even though Esscomm did not believe the claims, they were taking the necessary action to ensure Sabah security was not breached.
He said that all wings of security forces - army, navy, air force, police and coastguards - have been alerted regarding developments in southern Philippines.
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