In a camp set up by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Jolo, Sulu, recruits are being trained by veteran combat fighters in this part of the southern Philippines "to rescue" thousands of Filipinos allegedly being abused by Malaysian security forces in Sabah.

Nur Misuari leader of MNLF MNLF leader Nur Misuari gave News 5 an exclusive peek into the ongoing training for members of "Operation Rescue" as he announced that they were ready to "sustain a war for a hundred years", if necessary.

Misuari ( right ) - founder of the original Moro insurgent force in the 1960s - claimed 1,000 of their men have already snuck into Sabah where a standoff began in Feb 12, between Malaysian forces and followers of the Sulu sultanate who were out to "reclaim" ancient territory.

Misuari stressed that their troops are not allied with the ‘Royal Sultanate Army’, but that their main mission is to "rescue" Filipinos allegedly being "abused" by Malaysia. Over 60 Filipinos have died in the standoff, and thousands of others fear being caught in the crackdown.

    

Separate from Misuari's statements, members of the self-styled ‘Royal Security Force of the Sulu Sultanate’ who remain holed up in Lahad Datu, Sabah, claim to have received additional reinforcements from sympathisers in the Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi areas.

'Seventy to eighty percent' armed

NONE Sultanate spokesperson and secretary-general Abraham Idjirani has claimed in a phone interview that as of Tuesday, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram and his ‘Royal Security Force’ are 400-strong, after dwindling to just over 160 in the face of heavy Malaysian assault.

Idjirani said more Filipinos went to Sabah on March 29 and April 5 onboard boats, having been able to slip past the naval blockade set up by both the Philippines and Malaysia.

He said "70 to 80 percent" of those who went there were reportedly armed. Furthermore, these Filipinos went there on their own due to "accumulated anger" after their loved ones in Sabah were either allegedly killed or harassed by Malaysians.

Idjirani's claims could not be independently verified, and Philippine military officials have said that naval forces are in place to block any such attempts to reinforce the sultanate's followers in Sabah.

At the MNLF camp, trainees were being instructed on the use of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Sulu governor Abdulsakur Tan has cautioned Misuari against any rash actions, whereas a military spokesperson warned that the supposed rescue plans - if carried out - would go against Philippine policies on the Sabah standoff.

- InterAksyon