Bomb blasts shatter brief calm in Ambon<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A series of bomb blasts, reported near the
\ndowntown Silo Church in Ambon on Friday, shattered the calm in
\nthe riot-torn Maluku capital, where almost two months of communal
\nclashes have claimed at least 166 lives.<\/p>\n
Marlene Petta, a lawyer at the Maranatha riot monitoring post,
\ntold The Jakarta Post by phone from Ambon, that Muslims living in
\nthe nearby area of Sobali started throwing Molotov cocktails at
\nthe church at 8:30 p.m. local time.<\/p>\n
\"Hundreds of people then gathered outside the church but
\ntroops rushed into the area and dispersed the crowd.\"<\/p>\n
She said there were no casualties and the situation was calm
\nbut tense.<\/p>\n
\"There were three explosions near the church as we were about
\nto have dinner,\" Edwin Paliama, a staff member at the Silo
\nChurch, told the Post.<\/p>\n
He confirmed that dozens of marines were dispatched to the
\nscene.<\/p>\n
Yusuf Elly, a Muslim activist at the Al Fatah Mosque, denied
\nMolotov cocktails were thrown.<\/p>\n
Firecrackers<\/p>\n
\"They were only firecrackers. The situation is now under
\ncontrol,\" Yusuf told the Post.<\/p>\n
The deployed marines are the advance group of 2,000
\nreinforcement troops sent to Ambon by Armed Forces (ABRI)
\nCommander Gen. Wiranto on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The arrival of the marines brought a semblance of calm to
\nAmbon on Thursday after weeks of horrendous clashes between
\nMuslims and Christians.<\/p>\n
Authorities said more than 400 others were injured since
\nreligious clashes erupted in the province in mid-January.<\/p>\n
They also said 3,575 houses have been set on fire in the weeks
\nof violence which have caused Rp 500 billion in material losses.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people have taken refuge in mosques, churches,
\nmilitary facilities and other government buildings in Ambon,
\nwhile thousands of others have fled the city on ships for their
\nhometowns in Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
The violence was initially sparked by a dispute between a
\nMuslim migrant and a local Christian driver of a public minibus
\non Jan. 19.<\/p>\n
It quickly degenerated into full-scale riots involving members
\nof both communities.(byg)<\/p>\n
Condemn -- Page 2<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bomb-blasts-shatter-brief-calm-in-ambon-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }