Philippines says shots fired in Sabah stand-off

Malaysia's ambassador to the Philippines told Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario that the gunfire had stopped and there were no casualties, department spokesman Raul Hernandez said on local television.

"What he (ambassador) relayed to Secretary del Rosario was that this incident happened earlier, and thank God there were no casualties," Hernandez said on ABS-CBN network.

Scores of followers of a self-proclaimed heir to the Filipino Muslim sultanate of Sulu have been facing off with Malaysian security forces in Lahad Datu village for more than two weeks.

The group, which includes about 30 gunmen according to Filipino authorities, sailed from their remote southern Philippine island homes to Lahad Datu on February 12 to stake a territorial claim on Sabah.

The self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan, Jamalul Kiram, told reporters at his Manila home that there were no reported casualties among his followers.

The group has no intention to leave the area, he stressed.