1,200 flee Poso villages

1,200 flee Poso villages

The Jakarta Post, Palu/Makassar

At least seven people were shot and wounded, four others missing
and two churches and 27 houses burned to the ground in the worst
violence to hit Poso in Central Sulawesi since a peace deal was
signed eight months ago, signatories and activists said on
Tuesday.

No casualties were reported, but at least four people -- Z.
Doda, 26, Olmas Daya, 27, Yohan Ewakola, 21, and Cecen Mangiri,
20 -- were reported missing after the attack.

Sulaiman Mamar, a signatory of the peace agreement, was quoted
by Antara as saying the attack was launched on Matako village in
Tojo subdistrict, 40 kilometers from Poso, early on Sunday.

Activists from the Human Rights Advocacy and Legal Studies
Institute (LPS-HAM) based in the Central Sulawesi capital of
Palu, said the violence broke out at 3:30 a.m. It remains unclear
who the attackers were.

They said around 1,200 people, mostly Christians, from Matako
and the neighboring villages of Galuga, Malei-Lage and
Tongkoyang, had fled and taken refuge in Tentena under
coordination by the local crisis center.

The evacuation of the refugees, mostly women and small
children, continued on Monday using 20 trucks and public buses.

Muslims residents in Matako also sought protection in safer
areas in Poso.

The activists said five of the seven people shot were women.
All the victims were receiving intensive medical treatment at the
Tentena public hospital.

The activists said the attackers not only set two churches on
fire, but also cut off the road connecting Poso, Palu and the
Banggai Regency for at least 16 hours.

Also on Sunday, a series of fresh bombings rocked Poso. The
targets included the house of Poso legislative council speaker
Murad U. Nasir. The kitchen and rear of the building were
severely damaged.

The latest attacks were a clear plot by extremists to disrupt
the peace accord signed last December by both Muslim and
Christian leaders in the hill resort of Malino in South Sulawesi.

Mamar condemned the Matako violence and urged security
authorities to capture and take firm action against the
attackers.

"It's too much," he said, noting that the attack was the worst
since the signing of the peace pact.

He said the authorities should anticipate further incidents as
retaliatory attacks could occur.

The latest incident was a serious insult to the Poso security
authorities, the Malino signatories and the local administration
as it took place just one day after they parties met to evaluate
the town's security on Saturday.

Those attending the meeting, held at the Central Sulawesi
governor's office, declared that social and security conditions
in Poso were improving after the peace deal.

"But the reality tells a different story," Mamar said.

As the meeting took place on Saturday, Sukirman, a Muslim
figure in Poso, was found decapitated with stabbed several times.

Meanwhile, Wirabuana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Amirul
Isnaeni, overseeing security in Sulawesi, said on Tuesday that
the local military in cooperation with the local administration
was looking into the alleged presence of outside forces in Poso.

"We will investigate it," he said.

Foreign soldiers have reportedly arrived in Poso for
unexplained reasons and motives. A dozen operatives from the
Army's elite special forces, Kopassus, specializing in
intelligence were sent there to investigate the reports.

Isnaeni said he has no plans to deploy troops to assist
security authorities in Poso despite the increasing violence.