Poso falling back into cycle of violance<\/p>\n
Irvan NR, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi<\/p>\n
Security forces escorted public vehicles traveling through Poso
\nregency, Central Sulawesi, following the disappearance of a civil
\nservant and a wave of renewed violence, amid the deployment of
\nreinforcement forces, Poso Police said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Husain Garusu, a 46-year-old local civil servant,
\nwas reported missing. He was last seen traveling aboard a
\npassenger bus from the provincial capital of Palu to Morowali
\nregency, via Poso.<\/p>\n
The bus was stopped by three armed men at Kuku village in
\nNorth Pamona, Poso, according to police and villagers.<\/p>\n
Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdi Dharma said officers had
\nso far only found a pair trousers allegedly belonging to Garusu
\nin the search for his whereabouts. \"We will continue to look for
\nhim,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Around 100 police officers arrived on Tuesday morning in Poso,
\nbringing the number of security forces -- including soldiers --
\nstationed there to over 3,200.<\/p>\n
To prevent further attacks targeting commuters, police and
\nsoldiers have formed a tight guard around public transportation
\nvehicles traveling within and outside of Poso.<\/p>\n
Security escorts have been assigned to buses on specific
\nroutes, including the Palu-Poso-Makassar, Poso-Bungku, Poso-
\nMorowali and Poso-Luwuk routes.<\/p>\n
The new measure was implemented following reports that several
\nvillages in the Lage and North Pamona subdistricts had put up
\nroad blocks, and that villagers had even stopped passing vehicles
\nfor security checks.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, roads leading to Tentena, a predominantly Christian
\ntown, was reopened on Monday after being closed several days in
\ncase of recurring violence.<\/p>\n
Some local residents, fearful of attacks, canceled road trips
\nto their South Sulawesi hometowns, where they had planned to
\ncelebrate Idul Fitri with family.<\/p>\n
Siska, a migrant from the neighborhood of Tatura in Poso, was
\namong those affected by the heightened security situation.<\/p>\n
\"We had decided to go home to Polopo (South Sulawesi) in a
\nfour-car caravan via North Pamona. But we finally canceled the
\ntrip, because we are afraid for our own safety,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Solmi, head of the Central Sulawesi transportation office,
\nconfirmed that the heightened security in Poso forced many people
\nto cancel or delay travel over land since last week, with many
\nopting to fly instead.<\/p>\n
Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto
\nsaid Poso residents had requested security escorts for all
\nvehicles traveling inside and out of town.<\/p>\n
However, he claimed that security in Poso was generally under
\ncontrol in spite of the latest incidents across the regency.<\/p>\n
On Saturday night, the police found three bodies identified as
\ntreasurer of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi (GKST)
\nOranye Tajoja, 50, and two other Christians -- Yohanis Tajoja,
\nalias Buce, 35, and Delfis Lingkuliwa -- in Poso Pesisir.<\/p>\n
The bodies were discovered as police and soldiers were
\ntracking down masked gunmen blamed for a series of attacks last
\nmonth in Poso and Morowali, in which at least 13 people were
\nkilled. Police believe the perpetrators intended to inflame
\nsectarian sentiments again to serve their own political ends.<\/p>\n
Security forces have shot dead six suspects in gunfights
\nduring their search and captured 17 others, who are being charged
\nunder the Antiterrorism Law. Officials have attributed the Poso
\nattacks to the al Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah regional terror
\nnetwork.<\/p>\n
Last Sunday, a crowd of around 300 Muslims besieged the
\nCentral Sulawesi Police station to protest the fatal shooting of
\na suspect, Hamid Sudin, wanted in connection with the October
\nattacks.<\/p>\n
Up to 1,000 people have been killed in the two-year sectarian
\nconflict that broke out in 2000 in Poso. The government brokered
\na peace deal in December 2001, but sporadic bloodshed continues.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/poso-falling-back-into-cycle-of-violance-1447893297",
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