Malaysia attacks Filipinos in Borneo

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia unleashed airstrikes and mortar attacks yesterday on nearly 200 Filipinos occupying a Borneo coastal village but could not declare an immediate end to a three-week siege that has turned into a security nightmare for both Malaysia and the Philippines.

The assault follows clashes this week that killed eight Malaysian police officers and 19 Filipino gunmen, including members of a Muslim clan that shocked Malaysia and the Philippines by slipping past naval patrols last month and storming the obscure village in Borneo's eastern Sabah state.

The clansmen, armed with rifles and grenade launchers, had refused to leave the area, staking a long-dormant claim to Malaysia's entire state of Sabah, which they insist is their ancestral birthright.

The crisis has sparked worries of a spread of instability in Sabah, which is rich in timber and oil resources.

As dusk approached, many hours after fighter jets were deployed in the morning, national police chief Ismail Omar said police and military personnel were still hunting for Filipinos in an area of 1.5 square miles that includes rough terrain and plantation land.

Ismail said the ground forces encountered resistance from gunmen firing at them, but Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said no Malaysian personnel were injured.

Prime Minister Najib Razak defended the offensive, saying Malaysia had made every effort to resolve the siege peacefully since the group's presence became known Feb. 12.

"For our sovereignty and stability, we will not allow even an inch of Malaysian territory to be threatened or taken by anyone," Najib said.

The Filipinos who landed in Lahad Datu, a short boat ride from the southern Philippines, say Sabah belonged to their royal sultanate for more than a century. The group is led by a brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu, Philippines.