Here’s the 4am edition of my news site: Firefight nego ends (Ch News Asia headline: “Diplomatic efforts hit a roadblock”); PNoy calls on sultan followers to stand down (surrender was the word he used in his statement) ( abs-cbn headline: “Aquino addresses Sabah conflict”); “Sabah, Malaysia’s ‘Wild East’” (Agence France Presse, storified by interaksyon, rappler); “Aquino says Sabah is a conspiracy” (rappler); “Sultan daughter blasts Aquino over conspiracy claim” (abs-cbn); “Only an intervention can end Sabah conflict” (Inquirer); “KL sends ‘cavalry’ to Sabah” (Agence France Presse, Associated Press, the star, Asia News Network, storified by Inquirer). Read all the stories, to have a panoramic view of the Sabah firefight, with details and context, at:

 Filipino guerrilla combat experience, Sabah firefightMarch5, 13 What’s Trending marichulambino

     

Here’s the story on which the blog post title was based.From Agence France Presse :

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“The exact identities of the armed men remains a mystery, but Malaysia’s military chief, Zulkifeli Zin, told a press conference in Sabah on Sunday that the intruders appeared to have combat experience.

“Their “insurgency guerrilla technique is quite good,” he was quoted as saying.

“Zulkifeli said Malaysia’s military and the police were adopting a cautious approach in their plan to resolve the standoff with Agbimuddin’s group in Tanduao.

“He noted that Agbimuddin’s group had planned their location around the village in such a way that they would inflict casualties if Malaysian security forces enter the area.

“They are at the center and have people spread out, including snipers,” Zulkifeli said.

” “They know we will suffer casualties if we go in as the area is open,” he said.

” “They are under close surveillance by our special forces,” Zulkifeli said.

“But he added that while Malaysia was determined to “bring this episode to a close” as soon as possible, any action would take a little more time.”