Malaysia standoff with armed Filipinos ends in violence

Manila: A standoff between Malaysian security forces and armed Filipinos ended in violence on Friday, with at least two police officers killed amid conflicting reports of casualties as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak declared his patience had run out.

Malaysian state news agency Bernama said that two police commandos had been killed in a mortar attack and two wounded after security forces tried to force out the group of at least 100 Filipinos who have been holed up in eastern Sabah state for more than two weeks.

The Filipino armed clan, followers of the Sultanate of Sulu in the southern Philippines who had demanded recognition and payment from the Malaysian government, said 10 of its members had been killed.

The Philippines only confirmed one death among the group, saying that 10 had surrendered while the rest had fled towards the sea.

Both governments had urged the group to return home and Najib was quoted by Bernama on Friday as saying that patience had run out.

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"Do not test our patience, our patience has reached the limit," he was quoted as saying.

"We have a plan to remove them, they should have surrendered and left," said Najib, who must call national elections by April and has come under pressure from the opposition for allowing the bizarre standoff to drag on.

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Raul Hernandez, spokesman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, cited Malaysia's ambassador to Manila as saying the standoff was over.

The confrontation had threatened to reignite tension between the Philippines and Malaysia, whose ties have been periodically frayed by security and migration problems along their sea border.

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Malaysia's The Star newspaper reported that at least two gunmen had been killed and three police officers wounded.

A hospital in Sandakan, about 90 km (55 miles) from the site of the standoff in Lahad Datu, told Reuters it was preparing to receive three wounded police officers.

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The leader of the group earlier told Philippine radio they had been surrounded by Malaysian police, who have warned in recent days that a deadline for them to leave had passed.

The armed group is demanding recognition from Malaysia and renegotiation of the original terms of a lease on Sabah by the Sultanate to a British trading company in the 19th century. Malaysian officials have said the group's demands would not be met.

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