Police deploy 100 extra officers to Poso<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The National Police has deployed another Mobile Brigade unit of
\n100 officers to Poso, Central Sulawesi, to join the 2,900-strong
\nforce already there following several violent incidents since
\nSaturday that has claimed four lives.<\/p>\n
"We ask the public to let the police carry out their duty in
\nhandling the cases," National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar
\nsaid on Monday.<\/p>\n
He confirmed that a man killed on Saturday was a suspect in
\nthe recent attacks on villages in the coastal area of Poso
\nregency.<\/p>\n
"He was shot during a raid against the suspects ... we call
\nupon the public to remain calm," said Da'i.<\/p>\n
Poso Police headquarters was besieged on Sunday by thousands
\nof people protesting the killing of terrorist suspect Hamid
\nSudin, who was shot on Saturday by police attempting to arrest
\nhim in connection with the Oct. 12 attacks on three Christian
\nvillages.<\/p>\n
Police said Hamid, 22, was shot and killed when he attempted
\nto attack police. His two companions, identified as Zukri and
\nIrwan bin Rais, surrendered without resistance.<\/p>\n
A police spokesman said the two men had already been released.<\/p>\n
"They have been released, but are obliged to report
\n(periodically). The situation in the area is improving and
\ninvestigations are continuing," said National Police public
\nrelations deputy chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko.<\/p>\n
Soenarko also said police found three bodies on Saturday --
\nOranye Tajoja, his nephew Yuhanis Tajoja, alias Buce, and Delfis
\nLingkuliwa. Oranye (not Yuhanis, as was reported on Monday) was
\ntreasurer of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi (GKST).<\/p>\n
Residents of Tentena, which is predominantly Christian, wanted
\nto enter Poso to seek information on the deaths of Oranye and the
\ntwo others, whose bodies were found near Pesisir Poso. The police
\ndid not allow them entry due to fears that their presence might
\nspark another incident.<\/p>\n
Police are also investigating an attack on a bus on Sunday by
\nthree unidentified men in Kuku village, Poso. The men broke the
\nbus windows, but none of the 19 passengers were harmed.<\/p>\n
"We are still trying to find the connection between the attack
\nand recent incidents in the area," Soenarko said.<\/p>\n
Poso, which is predominantly Muslim, and Tentena were involved
\nin a prolonged sectarian conflict that erupted in the regency in
\n2000, which claimed about 2,000 lives until 2002.<\/p>\n
The government brokered the Malino Peace Agreement in December
\n2001, but sporadic bloodshed continued. The situation had been
\nrelatively stable between the two religious communities until
\nlast month, when attacks on both Christian and Muslim villages by
\nmasked gunmen again sparked unrest. Dozens have been killed in
\nsimilar raids across the regency, and the situation has continued
\nto deteriorate.<\/p>",
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