Eight bodies discovered after clash in Saparua<\/p>\n
AMBON, Maluku (JP): Residents of riot-torn Sirisori village in
\nSaparua Island, Central Maluku, found eight bodies on Monday,
\nconsisting of three soldiers and five civilians, in the debris
\nleft behind by a clash on Sunday, a church official said.<\/p>\n
The Klasis Maluku Protestant Church's secretary, P.G. Manopo,
\nsaid in Saparua that the five civilians were all clad in Muslim
\noutfits and were identified later as members of Laskar Jihad (the
\nJihad Force).<\/p>\n
Manopo, however, failed to give any further explanation and no
\nLaskar Jihad contacts could be reached for confirmation.<\/p>\n
The bodies were found following a violent communal clash
\nbetween Sirisori villagers and residents of the neighboring
\nvillage of Ulath.<\/p>\n
Manopo said the incident, which occurred in the no-man's-land
\ndemarcating the two villages had initially left three Ulath
\nresidents dead and three other people injured.<\/p>\n
On Sunday evening, or several hours after the clash, the
\nsecretary of the Indonesian Ulemas' Council (MUI)'s Maluku
\nchapter, Malik Selang, said that his organization was still
\ntracing the whereabouts of five Muslims missing in the affray.<\/p>\n
He added that the disturbance had left at least five Muslim
\nresidents seriously injured.<\/p>\n
The Pattimura Military Command spokesman Capt. P.A.J. Heri,
\nsaid he had not yet received any reports about the death of three
\nsoldiers but said that three soldiers from his command had
\nsuffered serious wounds in the clash.<\/p>\n
According to Manopo, the flow of refugees from Sirisori has
\nsignificantly increased in recent days, following public anxiety
\nover a military sweeping operation in their ravaged village.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of residents, he said, had already fled the village
\nto seek shelter in the nearby forest or the Saparua district
\noffice and that the number of refugees had been continuously
\ngrowing from day to day.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them are forced to go deep into the forest to avoid
\nthe military's sweeping (against armed residents),\" Manopo said.<\/p>\n
The locals, he explained, had decided to abandon their
\nproperty in the village since such military operations, which
\nhave been ongoing since late last month, often turned into
\nviolent attacks, leaving the village residents traumatized.<\/p>\n
Sweeping operations are mainly held to disarm local residents
\nand apprehend suspected rioters.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the sweeping operation claimed the life of one
\nresident, who was reportedly on his way into the forest to join
\nthe other refugees.<\/p>\n
The situation in Saparua Island remained tense throughout the
\nrest of Monday and rumors had it that dozens of attackers were
\nfollowing in the rear guard of the sweeping operation.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Ambon-based Civil Emergency Post disclosed
\nthat 192 combined military personnel and another 40 Police Mobile
\nBrigade (Brimob) members had been deployed to Saparua island on
\nSunday morning.<\/p>\n
The military reinforcements were deployed to conduct a
\nsweeping operation, while the police personnel were dispatched to
\nprotect Sirisori village from armed attackers.<\/p>\n
However, the Brimob personnel on Monday were still in Saparua,
\nabout five kilometers from Sirisori village.<\/p>\n
The emergency post's spokesman Agus Soukkotta quoted Saparua
\nMilitary Commander Col. A. Siswanto as saying that the military
\nwanted the postponement of the Brimob deployment to the village
\nuntil the completion of the sweeping operation so as to avoid
\npossible firefights between the military and police due to
\nlimited means of communication between the two sides.<\/p>\n
Local residents, however, opposed the authorities' plan for
\nmilitary reinforcements to guard Sirisori village, demanding
\ninstead that the Brimob personnel be assigned to guard their
\nvillage.<\/p>\n
The residents accused the military of having taken sides in
\nthe conflict.<\/p>\n
Last month alone, attacks on Sirisori razed at least 340
\nhouses and one church. Only 15 houses were left undamaged.
\n(49\/lup)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/eight-bodies-discovered-after-clash-in-saparua-1447893297",
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