Brawling students cause a traffic congestion

Around 200 students of the Christian University of Indonesia (UKI) and YAI Persada Indonesia University renewed fighting on Friday, following a similar incident on Tuesday, which resulted in 36 injured.

The fresh brawl caused a traffic jam in front of the YAI campus on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, and surrounding side- streets. The students hurled rocks, bottles, sticks, molotov cocktails and firecrackers at each other from 30 meters away.

Friday's incident, sparked by unknown reasons, started at about 2 p.m. and lasted only half an hour after 16 motorcycle police arrived and dispersed them.

The students scattered to their respective universities, which are about 200 meters from each other.

Dozens of public order officials cleared the streets of rocks and other debris after the incident.

Students of the rival universities are often involved in brawls. Tuesday's brawl lasted an hour, prompting the police to close the street and reroute traffic.

Last October, students from the two universities were also involved in a brawl that injured 15. UKI students held a press briefing after the brawl, promising that they and other students from the universities in the area would put an end to the violence.

Only two days after the pledge was made, however, another brawl broke out and 10 students were injured. Two cars parked nearby were also damaged in the clash. -- JP