Peace Rally Held To End Standoff In Sabah

Protestors hold a rally outside the Malaysian embassy in the financial district of Makati on March 5, 2013 in Manila, Philippines. The protestors demand an end to hostilities that have so far claimed the lives of 17 followers of self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III and 8 Malaysian security forces in the villages of Lahad Datu and Semporna in Sabah.

Around 200 armed followers of Kiram in the restive southern provinces of Sulu and Tawi Tawi in Mindanao crossed over to neighboring Sabah last February 12 to lay claim to territory as ancestral land triggering clashes with Malaysian security forces. Philippine diplomatic officials confirmed Tuesday that security forces in Malaysia have conducted airstrikes and ground assault on the ‘royal army’ of the Sultanate of Sulu in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

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