Three more people killed as Ambon violence continues<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At least three more people were killed and 10
\ninjured as clashes between Muslims and Christians in the riot-
\ntorn Maluku capital of Ambon entered their third day on
\nWednesday, witnesses and a police spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said clashes erupted on Wednesday morning in the
\nPoka area across Ambon bay and the city areas of OSM, Talake and
\nAster.<\/p>\n
Maluku Police spokesman Maj. Jekriel Philip told The Jakarta
\nPost by phone from Ambon that at least three people were killed
\nand 21 houses set on fire on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Earlier, a spokesman for the Maluku Military Command Lt. Col.
\nIwa Budiman said two battalions of reinforcement troops from East
\nJava had been dispatched to Ambon.<\/p>\n
\"They have left Surabaya by ship and are still on their way,\"
\nIwa said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
One battalion of marines arrived in Ambon late last month to
\nquell the ongoing violence between Muslims and Christians.<\/p>\n
The province has already received reinforcements of five
\nadditional battalions of troops, or some 3,000 men, and three
\ncompanies from the Elite Police Mobile Brigade.<\/p>\n
Separately, Edy Selestimu, a Christian activist, told the Post
\nfrom the Haulusi General Hospital in Ambon that at least two
\npeople were killed and six more with slash and bullet wounds had
\nbeen admitted to the hospital.<\/p>\n
\"Sherly Sipahelut, 25, was brought in dead and Ardilles
\nLambiobir, 13, died of bullet wounds at the hospital this
\nafternoon,\" Edy said.<\/p>\n
Suleman Rahman, a Muslim activist, said at least four people
\nsuffering injuries had been admitted to the Al-Fatah hospital
\nafter security personnel fired warning shots to disperse warring
\ngroups in Poka.<\/p>\n
\"We always fire warning shots first to try to stop the
\nfighting, but if they refuse to do so, we have no other choice,\"
\nIwa said.<\/p>\n
He added that \"the fighting in Ambon was different from the
\nfighting in Jakarta\".<\/p>\n
\"People here do not use stones, they use all kind of weapons
\nin the fighting, including homemade firearms and traditional
\nsteel arrows which can be catapulted from a long distance.\"<\/p>\n
He said that since July 27, at least 59 people had been killed
\nand 240 more seriously injured in the communal clashes.<\/p>\n
He added that at least 26 security personnel were also
\ninjured.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said sporadic gunshots could still be heard in some
\nparts of the city, while billowing smoke from burning houses was
\nvisible.<\/p>\n
\"The electricity has been cut off in some parts of Poka,
\nNusaniwe, OSM and Tantui due to the fire,\" a witness said, adding
\nthat people were also seen attempting to put out the fire.<\/p>\n
Witnesses also said that shops and businesses were still
\nclosed and public transport was still not available.<\/p>\n
Iwa said that more than 34,000 people had sought refuge in 35
\nlocations, including mosques, churches and military barracks,
\nsince the fresh outbreak of violence.<\/p>\n
\"Some 9,000 of them have sought refuge at Halong naval base,\"
\nIwa said.<\/p>\n
Thousands of others have left by ship for other islands or
\nprovinces.<\/p>\n
More than 1,000 refugees from Ambon arrived at the South
\nSulawesi capital of Ujungpandang early Wednesday, while another
\n1,300 refugees arrived in Bau Bau in Southeast Sulawesi by ferry
\nlate on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some 100 students staged a peaceful rally in
\nUjungpandang on Wednesday to demand an end to violence in Ambon.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, the Communion of Indonesian Churches (PGI) also
\nissued a statement urging all parties to stop fighting.<\/p>\n
\"We call on our beloved brothers and sisters, both Muslims and
\nChristians, to stop this violence... you have been dragged in a
\nwave of hatred and vengeance and destructive actions,\" PGI said
\nin a statement signed by its chairman Sularso Sopater and
\nsecretary-general J.M. Pattiasina.<\/p>\n
To date more than 350 people had been killed in communal
\nclashes in Maluku, but which first erupted in Ambon in mid-
\nJanuary. (27\/30\/48\/byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/three-more-people-killed-as-ambon-violence-continues-1447893297",
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