A group of gunmen from the Philippines face life imprisonment or the death penalty for Terrorism, after allegedly attempting to take over a small corner of Malaysia.

The defendants are aged 17 to 66 years old and appeared in court in Sabah province, the scene of most of the fighting.

They’re from a group of 200 followers of the self-declared “Sultan of Sulu” who claims to rule the Southern Philippines and Sabah province in Malaysian Borneo, based on an internationally unrecognized territorial claim from the early 1800s.

Malaysian forces have spent the past few weeks trying to dislodge the intruders and at least 71 people are dead.  Those members of the self-styled Royal Sulu Army who haven’t been killed or captured are hiding along the Oil Palms on the coast.  But some of the 800 Thousand ethnic Filipinos in Sabah province have fled north to the Philippines. 

The Malay government came under intense criticism for failing to act against the invaders for two weeks and now must project a tough image just before national elections.