Cavalry called in, brawl erupts

AMBON, Maluku: Army soldiers and police officers were fought a pitched battle at dawn on Monday in Ambon city, leaving three civilians injured.

The brawl broke out as a wedding reception was winding down into the wee hours in Nusaniwe district of the city.

According to witnesses, the melee began after the groom, Lukman Nawi, a police officer, told an Army soldier to stop smoking while dancing in the crowded wedding area. The Army man reportedly became enraged and began punching police officers. As the officers retaliated, the soldiers three colleagues joined the fray and the fight was on.

A group of civilian residents, along with the officers, eventually managed to overwhelm the soldier and his three cohorts, prompting them to flee the dance floor and split the scene.

However, in a shocking turn of events, a larger group of military personnel from a nearby cavalry unit in the city returned to the wedding and attacked the revelers, both civilians and police, in attendance.

In addition to the three injured civilians, at least six houses and eight cars were wrecked after the cavalry was called in.

No arrests or suspensions have been made, but the incidents are being investigated by police and military authorities in the formerly riot-torn city. -- JP