Brawling students cause a traffic congestion

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