Attacker killed in Ambon assault

Oktavianus Pinontoan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fresh violence erupted in Ambon, the site of an ongoing sectarian conflict, on Monday when a group of gunmen attacked Rutong Village in the Ambon mayoralty, leaving one attacker dead and four injured.

The dead man and two other attackers have yet to be identified and his body remained in a forest area near the village. Two residents who were identified as Mrs. Len Maitimu and Ferdinand Maspaitelo are still undergoing an intensive medication at the Dr. Houlussy General Hospital in the city for their serious injuries.

Ferdinand Lessy, deputy chief of Rutong village, said the violence occurred when a group of unidentified gunmen threw a bomb at a house belonging to Ois de Fretes, which then exploded in the house's yard.

"All residents came out of their houses and mounted a defense with the help of dozens of security personnel from a Police Mobile Brigade regiment stationed in the nearby Hutumury and Leahari villages," Antara quoted him as saying here on Sunday.

The man was shot as villagers and security personnel drove the group out of the village.

Lessy said the attackers were equipped with AK-47 and SS-1 weapons and handmade bombs.

Security personnel also found masks, ammunition, several pairs of footwear and documents abandoned by the attackers in the forest area. These were taken as material evidence to the local police subprecinct as part of the police's investigations.

The assault, which did not cause any casualties among the village's residents, forced local Christians to cancel their Sunday prayers while children and the elderly were evacuated to neighboring villages.

"The local administration and security authorities should station security personnel to prevent such assaults in the future and take firm measures against attackers who are trying to disturb the gradually improving situation in the mayoralty," he said.

According to him, the predominantly Christian village has regularly come under attack since violence in Maluku first erupted on Jan. 19, 1999, claiming dozens of lives.

The incident was part of a series of attacks launched by various groups in a bid to disrupt the gradual return to stability in the city, he said.

Despite the state of civilian emergency imposed in July 2000, a series of violent incidents has claimed hundreds of lives. Last month at least 60 people were killed in a series of bombings and shootings in the city. The major incidents were the explosion of a bomb onboard a ferry, the California, that claimed more than 40 lives and an armed attack on a speedboat that left seven passengers dead.

More than 9,000 people have been killed and thousands of homes, mosques and churches have been burned down over the last three years.

Comr. Rudolf Roja, deputy chief of the Mobile Brigade command at the Maluku Provincial Police, said a number of security personnel had been deployed to hunt for the attackers and had found land mines planted by the gunmen in several locations in an attempt to disrupt the security forces' manhunt.

Many villages in the subdistrict were quiet after the attack, as most residents chose to stay at home.