Arms raids planned in Ambon as tension rises after explosion
Arms raids planned in Ambon as tension rises after explosion
Agencies, Jakarta
Tension rose again in the country's eastern city of Ambon, Maluku province, on Monday, with residents reestablishing roadblocks after bombs wounded five people, while police are planning to launch raids in search of weapons.
Barricades, made of tires, rocks, bamboo, wood and hawker wagons, blocked several main streets in both the Christian and Muslim sectors early on Monday.
But by noon armed police and troops cleared most of them, AFP reported.
On Sunday, two bombs exploded in Ambon in what a police officer described as "efforts to provoke the population".
Five people were injured in a blast in the mainly Christian village of Halong Baru and two of them were still in hospital on Monday, medical staff said.
The second bomb in a Muslim area caused no injuries.
Ambon is still recovering from an outbreak of renewed violence that began on April 25 and killed 41 people.
Ambon was ravaged by three years of Muslim-Christian clashes which killed more than 5,000 people before a February 2002 peace pact came into force.
The latest violence broke out on April 25 after a banned procession by members of a mainly Christian separatist group, the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM). Muslims saw the procession as an act of provocation.
Police said on Monday they had arrested six more suspected FKM members and have flown them to Jakarta for further questioning at the National Police Headquarters.
Maluku Police spokesman Hendro Prasetyo said four of the six had escaped from police cells earlier this month. They were recaptured after a tipoff from residents.
He said 38 other suspected independence supporters are under detention in the province.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri paid a brief visit to the city on Saturday and ordered the weeding-out of separatist supporters.
In Jakarta, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said security personnel would launch raids on arms across Ambon to stop more violence in the riot-hit town following Sunday's bomb blasts.
"The important thing is that we must search local people for firearms and other sharp weapons," he was quoted by Antara as saying after attending the National Awakening Day commemoration in Jakarta.
Da'i lamented the bombing incidents in Ambon, saying it was aimed at provoking local people to renew fighting after a peace deal signed in February 2002 by Muslim and Christian leaders.
"We strongly condemn such attempts at provoking the people. But praise be to God that people were not provoked," he said.
The general urged Ambonese residents to remain on alert in case of further provocation.
"Give the responsibility to the law enforcement agencies to find those behind the bomb explosions. Therefore, we want people to provide us with information," Da'i said.