Sabah shuts down cross-border trade with southern PH over Sayyaf kidnappings

ZAMBOANGA CITY: The Malaysian state of Sabah has shut down its border with Tawi-Tawi province in southern Philippines, following a spate of daring kidnappings by the jihadist group Abu Sayyaf inside its territory, according to a recent article in The Jakarta Post.

This was among several measures agreed upon by Sabah’s Cabinet at their April 6 meeting, the Indonesian daily reported, four days after a group of gunmen on a speedboat intercepted the tugboat MasFive 6 near Ligitan Island off Semporna and abducted its crew.