Six Abu Sayyaf dwellings torn down, more to follow after shoot-out

 

Beaufort police chief Yusoff Zaki Mat Yaacob (right) inspecting the area where the squatter houses previously occupied by the Abu Sayyaf group members are located.

KOTA KINABALU: Six squatter houses believed to have been occupied by members of the Abu Sayyaf group who were shot dead in a recent shoot-out with Sabah police were destroyed today.

The makeshift dwellings located at a mangrove swamp near Taman Sri Arjuna in the southwestern Beaufort district, some 100km from the state capital, were torn down before being burned in a special operation earlier this morning.

The team consisted of 60 officers and personnel from the police force, Beaufort district office, Rela and the environment department.

Beaufort police chief Yusoff Zaki Mat Yaacob said the measures were taken to ensure that the structures, where members of the terror group hid before attacking the security forces, could not be reutilised as a hideout.

Six dwellings were torn down before being burned in the operation, with more to follow soon.

He said the decision to demolish the small settlement was made in a meeting yesterday.

Today’s exercise at the location, known as Point A, was only the first part of the whole operation, he said. They could not carry out further demolitions due to flooding at a second location, Point B.

“The demolition at Point A will involve 30 houses, which are located some 300m from Point B,” he told reporters during the exercise.

“The operation is part of our efforts to rid the presence of this group from the district.”

Sabah police chief Hazani Ghazali had said one of the suspects shot dead in the shooting on May 17 included a “sub-commander” of the terrorist group, known as Mabar Binda, who was on the Philippine government’s wanted list.

He said the other three casualties were identified as Abhirsham Samsula@Samseed, Jurakhdam Binda and Alsimar Sukarno, while another has not been identified. All of them were aged between 20 and 40.

Police have cordoned off the area where a shoot-out between the security forces and the terrorist group took place.

Yusoff said police would not stop with this operation, and efforts would be made to track down remnants of the group to completely eradicate the Abu Sayyaf from Beaufort.

He said his men have been ordered to go into other squatter areas in the district.

Meanwhile, Yusoff also rejected claims over social media that Beaufort is no longer a safe district following the shoot-out between police and the Abu Sayyaf group.

“Don’t believe such rumours. The daily activities in the district are going on as usual.

“There is no safety issue in Beaufort. The security forces are also on standby at all times to ensure the situation is safe here,” he said.

At the same time, he also urged the public to provide any information they had on suspicious activities in the district. - FMT