Malaysian police said on Sunday two officers were injured in shootouts with Filipino gunmen as they try to end a month-long incursion in remote Sabah state that has already left 61 people dead.
Fifty-three militants and eight police officers have been shot dead since a group of armed Filipino Islamists landed in the state on Borneo island last month to resurrect long-dormant land claims of a self-proclaimed Philippine sultan.
Malaysia, facing its worst security crisis in years, insists the gunmen must surrender unconditionally, but the men have refused to lay down arms, hiding within a security cordon around two villages, palm oil plantations and swamp.
Sabah police chief Hamza Taib said gunmen have traded fresh fire with security forces since late on Saturday with shots hitting two officers who were sent to a hospital in Sandakan town for treatment.
He also said six more people have been arrested in the state under a security law and are being investigated for “committing terrorist acts”, bringing the total held under the law in relation to the crisis to 85.
Authorities stopped three boats near the battle zone on Saturday and detained 27 people claiming to be fishermen. But it is unclear if any of them were included in Hamza’s figure.
