15 students injured in a brawl

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At least 15 people, mostly university students, were injured in a brawl on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Seven cars were damaged in the incident and police rerouted traffic for the duration of the brawl.

Eyewitnesses said that the brawl between students of the Christian University of Indonesia (UKI) and those of the YAI Persada Indonesia University, both located on the same street, broke out after a group of students of the nearby STM 04 vocational school attacked the UKI campus. Only about 30 students were inside the university at the time as most of their friends had gone to UKI's Cawang, East Jakarta, campus to celebrate its anniversary.

The motive behind the attack was not clear.

Infuriated by the attack, the UKI students then chased the assailants, who ran into the YAI campus. The clash between UKI students and the assailants resulted in damage to a white sedan belonging to a YAI student.

YAI students, who thought they were being attacked by UKI students, fought back by pelting UKI students with stones and bricks, which were easily obtainable as construction is under way on the YAI campus.

The clash broke out at midday and lasted for more than an hour. Two trucks packed with police personnel arrived to bring the situation under control. Police also rerouted traffic to avoid damage to private vehicles. They used sticks, shields and tear gas to stop the brawl.

Three UKI students injured in the clash were rushed to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. They were Jonatan Imanuel, Nico and Jimmy Johan. Among the YAI students, 11 were injured and taken to St Carolus Hospital. They were Voltino, Reagen, Ricky, Isni, Dutra, Alred, Edy, Eko Agus, Aditya Muramsyah, Andry Candra, Budi. Also injured in the clash was a passerby named Sandi.

Six cars parked on the street were also damaged in the brawl.

Andry, who sustained head and elbow injuries from thrown stones, said he was attending a meeting with new students when the brawl broke out.

He left the meeting and joined in the brawl after being informed that his campus was being attacked by UKI students.

"Unfortunately, I was injured in the incident," he told reporters at the St Carolus emergency room.

The traffic returned to normal at 3 p.m. but policemen remained at the scene in fear of another clash as most of the students stayed put on their campuses.