Poso attacks spark fears of more violence<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Palu\/Makassar<\/p>\n
A wave of renewed attacks in Poso, Central Sulawesi, has sparked
\nfears of an upsurge in religious violence after months of
\nrelative peace in the once riot-wracked town, where security
\nforces are now on a heightened state of alert.<\/p>\n
The latest attack occurred as a gang of masked men fired shots
\nat a policeman and school teacher, while on a motorcycle at
\nLembomowo village, Poso subdistrict, on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The shots critically injured First Brig. Petrian Malangi, a
\nmember of the Lage Police, and the woman teacher, Marlian Lapano,
\npolice said.<\/p>\n
They said the gunmen sprayed bullets at Petrian, who was
\ntaking the school teacher home on his motorbike.<\/p>\n
The victims, both Christians, were in critical condition and
\nbeing treated intensively at the hospital, as they had lost a lot
\nof blood, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha
\nsaid on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He declined to speculate on the identity of the gunmen, but
\nsaid they did not resemble regular criminals. The motive behind
\nthe incident was as yet unknown.<\/p>\n
Local police said they had deployed additional personnel to
\nhunt down bombers and gunmen.<\/p>\n
The shooting followed a bomb explosion in Poso on Thursday
\nnight, which left four people injured, with at least one,
\nidentified as Sutrisno, 40, in a critical condition.<\/p>\n
Sutrisno had his right leg and left hand amputated after a
\nbomb attack at a food stall, which also wounded three other
\nvictims -- Tini Alimin, 36, Melki, 33, and Fela, 2.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Wednesday, gunmen shot dead Yulius Ledo Pamimi, a
\n32-year-old resident of Saatu village, Poso.<\/p>\n
Police remain in the dark about the culprits, as the bullets
\nthat killed Yulius could not be recovered because his family
\nrefused to permit an autopsy to be performed.<\/p>\n
Another bomb also exploded two weeks ago in Kawua village,
\nLage subdistrict, as local residents held a traditional dance
\nparty. No injuries were reported in that blast.<\/p>\n
In May, two other people were also shot dead by snipers in
\nanother part of Poso.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar acknowledged on
\nSunday that the security situation had heated up again in Poso
\nafter the bombings and mysterious shootings by unidentified
\npeople.<\/p>\n
"After the security situation in Poso had increasingly become
\nmore stable and began to be restored, it (the violence) has
\nrecurred now. Therefore, we are tightening up on security again,"
\nhe said in Makassar, South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Da'i said the police would continue to empower local people to
\nhelp ensure security in Poso.<\/p>\n
He added that security often became a problem in the regency
\neach time the police planned to pull out reinforced personnel
\nfrom the region. He did not elaborate further.<\/p>\n
The renewed violence has come after months of relative peace
\nin the region, once ravaged by bloody fighting between Muslim and
\nChristian gangs.<\/p>\n
In December 2001, Muslim and Christian leaders signed a peace
\naccord brokered by the government to end two years of conflict
\nthat had killed some 2,000 people. However, sporadic violence
\nerupted occasionally.<\/p>\n
Despite the recent outbreaks of unexplained attacks, deputy
\nCentral Sulawesi Police chief Sr. Comr. Sukirno claimed on
\nSaturday that security and order was under control in Poso.<\/p>\n
He said that Poso people in general were not reacting
\nexcessively to the shootings and bomb blasts.<\/p>\n
"What happened was a one-off occurrence and we don't see any
\nfurther reaction from large groups," Sukirno said, as quoted by
\nAntara.<\/p>\n
He added that he had sufficient personnel to keep any
\nincipient conflict in the regency under control.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/poso-attacks-spark-fears-of-more-violence-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}