Fresh riot kills eight in Poso<\/p>\n
La Remmy, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi<\/p>\n
Fresh violence broke out in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi,
\nkilling at least eight people and injuring seven others on
\nSunday, sparking fears of the resurgence of sectarian fighting in
\nthe religiously divided town.<\/p>\n
Police claimed only eight people died when a group of gunmen,
\nwearing face masks, attacked the three villages of Saatu,
\nPantangolemba and Pinedapa at dawn.<\/p>\n
However, doctors at a Poso hospital put the death toll at
\nnine, while local Muslim figure Sulaiman Mamar, who led the peace
\ntaskforce, said the number killed was 15.<\/p>\n
"The attacked villages are Christian-dominated areas, and I
\nhave received a report that 15 people died in the incident," he
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha said the
\nrampage was linked to Friday's attack on the neighboring regency
\nof Morowali, in which three people were killed, five others badly
\ninjured and 30 houses and a church burned.<\/p>\n
Also on Sunday, firefight erupted in Morowali between police
\nand a group of at least 13 attackers, he said, adding that one of
\nthe gunmen was shot but escaped arrest when he jumped into a
\nriver.<\/p>\n
"We continue to look for the shot gunman. If he is arrested,
\nit will help unveil the identity of the attackers and their
\nmotive," Taufik told a news conference in Palu, Central Sulawesi
\nafter arriving back from Poso.<\/p>\n
He said the renewed attack in Poso forced local villagers to
\nflee to safety. "(But) even though people were running, the
\ngunmen targeted them."<\/p>\n
Taufik said the perpetrators fled to the mountain shortly
\nafter the attacks on the three villages.<\/p>\n
The nine killed were identified as Traniadi, Allo and Lisman
\nfrom Saatu village; Yohanes, Marwas, Patrian, Martina, Ayub and
\nSinta of Pantangolemba village, doctors said.<\/p>\n
All the seven injured had been shot or stabbed and are being
\ntreated at the Poso General Hospital.<\/p>\n
Taufik admitted that they could not identify the attackers nor
\nthe motive behind the violence that shattered the fragile peace
\naccord made between Muslim and Christian leaders in December
\n2001.<\/p>\n
The fresh attack came months after reinforcement troops were
\npulled out of Poso as peace was largely restored there.<\/p>\n
Sulaiman further said it was almost hard to believe that local
\npeople were behind the renewed violence, arguing that they had
\nlong exhibited evidence that they were sick of fighting.<\/p>\n
"The attackers must be outsiders (attempting) to incite fresh
\nrioting. We suspect that jealousy among security officers is the
\nreason behind the latest violence," he remarked.<\/p>\n
The local Muslim figure said there were unconfirmed reports
\nthat the military forces assigned to Poso were jealous as most of
\nthe assistance from the local administration was channeled to the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
"The police have just received 120 motorcycles and seven cars
\nto help smooth their duties in Poso, while none of the local
\nmilitary personnel has got anything. But, it is an unconfirmed
\nreport... we do not know anything yet," he said.<\/p>\n
To prevent the violence from spreading, the police were
\ndeploying three companies of around 100 personnel, including
\nthose from Jakarta, to Poso, Taufik said.<\/p>\n
He said the police were also checking the IDs of all those
\nentering or leaving the regency in an attempt to restore security
\nand find the attackers.<\/p>\n
Poso was plagued by two years of religious conflict since
\n2000, killing some 2,000 people and forcing thousands of others
\nto flee.<\/p>\n
The militant Laskar Jihad group was blamed for worsening the
\nfighting in Poso, before it left the regency last year.<\/p>\n
Sunday's attack was the most serious incident after the peace
\ndeal.<\/p>\n
"We are afraid that it will bring back the horrifying
\nexperience of fighting among ourselves, just as it was before,"
\nSulaiman said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fresh-riot-kills-eight-in-poso-1447893297",
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