Two gunmen surrender; Malaysian troops ready to storm camp to rescue hostages

Captors' families plead for end to hostage-taking

Malaysian police officers check documents found inside one of six seized cars believed to belong to the armed raiders at a police station in Sauk on Wednesday

July 6, 2000
Web posted at: 3:22 p.m. HKT (0722 GMT)

In this story: No sign of breakthrough Authorities seek peaceful conclusion RELATED STORIES, SITES

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Two members of an armed Islamic cult holding three hostages on a Malaysian hilltop surrendered Thursday, but more than a dozen other gunmen refused to give up as government troops awaited orders to storm the base.

The official Bernama news agency reported that the two unidentified gunmen surrendered at 5:30 a.m. Thursday (2130 GMT Wednesday).

Thousands of troops, including elite special forces and policemen, ringed the hilltop camp.

AUDIO CNN's Kasra Naji reports on the armed Islamic group 491k/21 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

The captors' families urged them to release the hostages and give up.

"Daddy, come home!" the child of one captor pleaded Thursday, a day after one gunman was wounded in a shootout with security forces. The captor had reportedly tried to break through a cordon around the base.

No sign of breakthrough

Despite the appeal, there was no sign of a breakthrough in the five-day standoff, involving between 15 and 20 gunmen. Sporadic gunfire was reported and at least one person was injured. On Wednesday, officials evacuated thousands of residents within a six-mile radius of the base.

The crisis began after the gunmen -- disguised as senior military officers on a surprise inspection -- fooled sentries at two military camps on Sunday, entered the armories and seized more than 100 M-16 and Steyr rifles, grenade launchers, machine guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

The gunmen later seized the hostages and fled to the jungle camp near the town of Sauk, which is about 250 kilometers (150 miles) from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and about 75 kilometers (50 miles) from the border with Thailand.

Government officials, coping with the security breach, said the gunmen were members of a "mystic Islamic cult" that practices meditation and martial arts.

"We have identified the leader and at least two other members," Malaysian police chief Norian Mai said. He added the gunmen were Malaysians with no apparent international connections.

Newspapers reported that the group's leader was believed to be a former army captain, who was not identified, who had been arrested in 1998 for trafficking drugs and illegal immigrants. The man was later court-martialed and jailed for 18 months.

Residents, meanwhile, said the cult members had recently moved into the area, and that they wore robes and red and white turbans.

Authorities seek peaceful conclusion

Malaysian officials said the soldiers and police were ready to storm the hilltop if the gunmen refused to surrender. However, authorities said they wanted to give the group every opportunity to peacefully end the conflict.

"Our intention is very clear, that is we want to take them alive for questioning without having to sacrifice any lives," Norian said.

"But we will not make any concessions whatsoever," he said. The government has sent thousands of troops and policemen to the region to deal with the standoff.

Norian said Rahim Mohd Razaleigh, the brother of one gunman, had been sent to the camp earlier in the week to urge the group to surrender, but returned without an agreement. Norian said two wives and a mother of other gang members might be asked to make similar appeals.

"We will exhaust all possible options to persuade them to surrender," he said. "They will be given a very limited time period, maybe one or two days. There are not other options apart from the call for them to surrender."

Correspondent Kasra Naji and Reuters contributed to this report.

Malaysian town evacuated as armed standoff continues
July 5, 2000
Military closes in on hostage takers in Malaysian jungle
July 4, 2000
Imposters steal weapons from Malaysian military camp
July 2, 2000

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