Bomb hits Poso, no casualties<\/p>\n
Irvan NR, The Jakarta Post, Poso, Central Sulawesi<\/p>\n
A low-explosive bomb ripped through an office belonging to bus
\ncompany PT Omega on Tuesday in Tentena, Poso, causing panic among
\nlocals. No fatalities were reported.<\/p>\n
Tentena is the capital of North Pamona and home to Christian
\nrefugees in Poso, which has been the site of a Muslim-Christian
\nsectarian conflict since 2000.<\/p>\n
The explosion destroyed a garage of the PT Omega ticketing
\noffice in Tentena, which managed Omega buses plying the Tentena-
\nPalu route.<\/p>\n
Sources say the bomb was delivered on Monday night, on an
\nOmega bus that had just arrived from Palu, the capital of Central
\nSulawesi.<\/p>\n
All passengers got off the bus, but a passenger had apparently
\nleft a bag behind. The bus driver took the bag to the office and
\nentrusted it to an PT Omega employee, hoping that the owner of
\nthe bag would return to claim it.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday morning, an Omega employee moved the bag to a
\ngarage in the office for unknown reasons.<\/p>\n
Some 45 minutes later, an explosion, apparently from the bag,
\nwas heard from the garage and caused panic in the surrounding
\nneighborhood. Locals quickly reported the explosion to the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Noldy, a local resident who lives some 70 meters from the
\noffice, said he was on his way to work when he heard the blast.
\n\"I was shocked. I dropped down to the floor on my house and lay
\nthere face down,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Chief of Poso Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdi Dharma said they were
\ninvestigating the incident. \"We are still investigating who is
\nthe owner of this bag,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government brokered a peace deal in December 2001,
\nbringing a lull to the sectarian conflict, but sporadic violence
\ncontinues. At least 1,000 people have been killed in the Muslim-
\nChristian conflict that broke out in 2000.<\/p>\n
Poso was again rocked by violence last month, when a group of
\nmasked gunmen attacked villages in the regency, killing at least
\n10 people, both Muslims and Christians. Police rounded up several
\nsuspected perpetrators and shot dead others in the course of
\ntheir investigation. Suspects included both locals and outsiders,
\nwho had orchestrated the attacks in order to reignite the
\nconflict in the province.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bomb-hits-poso-no-casualties-1447893297",
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