Angry crowd siege police after death of terror suspect<\/p>\n
Irvan NR, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi<\/p>\n
Poso Police headquarters was besieged on Sunday by thousands of
\npeople protesting the death of terrorist suspect Hamid Sudin, who
\nwas shot and killed by police attempting to arrest him in
\nrelation to the bloody attacks on three Christian villages in
\nCentral Sulawesi on Oct. 12.<\/p>\n
The protesters from coastal areas of Poso, Central Sulawesi
\nprovince began picketing outside police headquarter in Poso town
\non Jl. Pulau Sumatra at midday. The crowd quickly grew as local
\nresidents joined in.<\/p>\n
The situation deteriorated during the afternoon and security
\npersonnel moved in to disperse the crowed by force about 5 p.m.
\nlocal time.<\/p>\n
Police said Hamid, 22, was shot and killed on Saturday when he
\nattempted to attack police.<\/p>\n
His two companions, identified as Zukri and Irwan bin Rais,
\nsurrendered to police without a fight. Zukri was reportedly
\nreleased on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
The raid was carried out after a tip off from local residents
\nwho had heard gunfire.<\/p>\n
When police arrived at the scene, they saw three armed men.
\nPolice ordered them to surrender but Hamid allegedly attempted to
\nattack security personnel. He was immediately shot in the chest.<\/p>\n
Hamid was rushed to Undata General hospital in Palu but was
\npronounced death shortly after arrival. His family buried him at
\naround 01:00 p.m. local time Sunday.<\/p>\n
Police also found evidence at the scene of the shooting,
\nincluding a gun, an air rifle, a green beret, one black-sack
\nfilled with cables and several rounds of ammunition.<\/p>\n
Police said the three were wanted in connection with the Oct.
\n12 attacks in Poso regency and neighboring Morowali regency.<\/p>\n
At least 10 people were killed in the attacks the government
\nhas linked to regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).<\/p>\n
JI has been blamed for the Bali blasts last Oct. 12, 2002 and
\nthe JW Marriott Hotel attack on Oct. 5, 2003. At least 202 people
\nwere killed in the Bali bombings and 12 in the JW Marriot attack.<\/p>\n
Authorities say JI is tied to al-Qaeda, an international
\nterrorist network of Osama bin Laden, the principal suspect of
\nSept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington that killed
\nmore than 3,000 people.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, security personnel prevented residents of Tentena
\nfrom entering Poso on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The residents were on their way to Poso to seek clarification
\nof the deaths of Central Sulawesi's Christian Church (GKST)
\ntreasurer Yuhanis Tajoja, 60, and his driver Buce, whose bodies
\nwere found near Pesisir Poso on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Police are yet to comment on the deaths.<\/p>\n
The two bodies were evacuated to Poso General Hospital before
\nbeing moved to Palu, according one of the volunteers. Thus far,
\npolice are yet to give comments about the deaths.<\/p>\n
People from Poso and Tentena were involved in the prolonged
\nsectarian conflict that erupted in the regency in 2000 and
\nclaimed about 2,000 lives over two years.<\/p>\n
The government brokered the Malino peace deal in December
\n2001, but sporadic bloodshed continued. The situation is again
\nbeginning to deteriorate between Muslims and Christians.<\/p>",
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