VIDEO | 2.54 mins

Some residents in Semporna have decided to flee following the Saturday gunbattle in a nearby village which resulted in 12 deaths.

"Our peaceful town has become a nightmare to live in," Julasri Yaakob, 38, told AFP as he heaved a bag full of clothes onto a lorry.

"We are moving out because these are uncertain times. We heard the gunshots. My children are afraid."

Schools, stores and government offices were closed in the town but there was little sign of a security presence despite the recent shootout and fleeing population.

A total of 27 people have been reported killed after two deadly shootouts in Sabag, where militants landed on February 12 and claimed the state on behalf of the heir to a former Philippine sultanate.

AFP's journalist saw convoys of armed vehicles moving toward affected areas after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, whose government was scrambling to contain Malaysia's worst security crisis in years, ordered strengthened security in the state.

Philippines' seek 'maximum tolerance'

Dispatching Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to Malaysia, the Philippine government called the deaths "deeply regrettable" and urged "maximum tolerance in dealing with the remaining members" of the sultan's group.

azlan It also prodded Malaysia for more information on the confused situation on the ground and asked that a Philippine naval ship be allowed to land to provide humanitarian, consular and medical help to besieged intruders.

An estimated 100-300 Filipino intruders have been holed up for three weeks, surrounded by police and the military, in the remote farming village of Tanduo.

The tense standoff erupted in a shootout Friday that killed 12 intruders and two police.

Fears of a wider guerrilla infiltration spread after a Saturday gunbattle in Semporna, a town that is hours away from Tanduo by road, in which six police and six gunmen died, according to authorities.

Cyber warfare

The affair has exposed lax border security and was likely to fuel longstanding complaints in Sabah that massive illegal immigration has fuelled lawlessness, just as Najib is due to call elections in coming months.

NONE Followers of the 74-year-old Manila-based Islamic leader, Jamalul Kiram III, say the gunmen are ready to die to defend his claim to Sabah, which was once controlled by the now-defunct sultanate.

Supporters of the Filipino intruders took their campaign to cyberspace on Monday, manipulating Google listings to post a message backing the incursion.

A Google search for "Sabah" came back with a results page that displayed a "Wikipedia" entry preview calling Malaysian control of the state "illegitimate".

A number of Philippine sites also were reportedly defaced by pro-Malaysia hackers.

Sketchy details

The exact identities of the gunmen ( topmost photo ) and their numbers remain a mystery.

Malaysia's opposition has pounced, accusing the government of incompetence, failure to protect national sovereignty and failure to release timely information on the crisis.

Sabah has seen previous smaller cross-border raids from Islamic militants and other bandits from the Philippines, but nothing of this scale.

The Sulu sultanate's power faded about a century ago but it has continued to receive nominal Malaysian payments for Sabah under a lease deal inherited from European colonial powers.

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