40 houses damaged in Banyumas brawl

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: An overnight brawl between residents of the neighboring villages of Karangkemiri and Adisara in Banyumas left 40 houses damaged and at least one man injured, police said.

According to Banyumas Police chief Supt. Imam Basuki, the incident was triggered by an assault on a Karangkemiri resident, identified as Sutrisno, by three drunken men from Adisara at about 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

"Karangkemiri residents heard the news and tried to capture the three men, but ended up pelting stones at houses in Adisara.

"Shortly after this, around 300 men from both villages became involved in a massive brawl and houses in Karangkemiri were damaged early on Thursday," Imam said.

Police were guarding the area on Thursday afternoon to prevent further clashes. (45/edt)