Border dispute kills three people in Riau amid fears of ethnic conflict

Puji Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru

A protracted dispute over border area between residents of two neighboring regencies in Riau province has eventually taken its toll when at least three people were killed in a deadly clash.

Two other residents were seriously injured in the fresh brawl on Sunday between two groups of people living in villages along the border of Indragiri Hulu and Indragiri Hilir regencies.

The two disputing camps respectively claimed their individual rights to land at the border.

The dead victims were identified as Pane, 35, a resident of Sincalang village in Indragiri Hilir, who died after being slashed to his abdomen and Agus Sidabutar, 29, also from Sincalang, whose neck was slashed.

Another victim, Budi Manurung, 20, from Danau Rambai village in Indragiri Hulu, died after his face and head were slashed.

Riau Police said on Monday the incident sparked a commotion among local residents as they feared the clash could lead to an ethnic or religious fighting.

A similar clash broke out in the same area two months ago, in which a man was beheaded by a mob due to a similar reason -- the prolonged suspension in the establishment of a common border between the two neighboring regencies.

Indragiri Hulu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Wiji confirmed that Sunday's incident was triggered by previous disputes over the ownership rights which remained unresolved among the local villagers in the two regencies.

This affected the individual rights of the residents over the border areas, he added.

"Both disputing parties claim their ownership of plots of land at the border area based on land documents from their respective village chiefs.

"The dispute has caused other problems that could develop into an ethnic and religious conflict. This will be very dangerous and serious efforts should be taken to prevent it," Bambang said.

He said the latest bloody incident erupted at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday after villagers from both sides were engaged in a verbal quarrel to defend their ownership rights to land there.

The verbal quarrel became unruly as the two feuding parties carried sharp weapons such as machetes, swords and clubs and attacked each other, which left three residents dead and two others severely injured.

"The clash ended when police personnel arrived and dissipated the crowd," said Bambang.

He said the injured victims were immediately rushed to Indrasari General Hospital in Pematangreba district.

The situation at the scene returned to normal on Monday, while dozens of police officers maintain guard at the border of the two villages, Bambang added.

He said that the police have detained two suspects, named only as Gulo and Herman. "We will continue investigating the incident to find other suspects."