Clash in One Village in Southeast Maluku, 3 Police Officers Hit by Arrows

A clash between villagers occurred in Danar Ternate village, Kei Timur Selatan sub-district, Southeast Maluku Regency, on Friday night (26/3). As a result, four houses were burnt to the ground, three police officers were injured, and one villager was reported dead. The clash took place between youths from Danar Ternate Ohoitom and Danar Ternate around 23:00 WIT. The two groups of youths attacked each other using bows and arrows and stones. The incident began when a youth named Marcel Ohoitenan rode a motorbike at high speed past a house owned by a villager named Alandi Muinsaleh at 22:00 WIT. At that time, Alandi was sitting with three villagers: Haruna Wangsi, Hendre Matdoan, and Raya Waer. They, upon seeing Marcel riding fast, scolded him harshly. Meanwhile, a group of youths who were hanging out in front of Al-Mathar Mosque responded to the scolding and threw stones at Alandi and his companions. Alandi’s wife, Asri Oda, who crossed paths with Marcel Ohoitenan on the road, also cursed at Marcel. Marcel then cursed back at Alandi’s wife. Unwilling to accept the cursing, the wife complained to the village head, but her complaint was ignored. The clash broke out after the husband and three villagers attacked the group of youths hanging out at Al-Mathar Mosque. Crowds from both groups gathered. They threw stones at each other and released arrows from bows around 23:30 WIT. The head of Kei Kecil Timur Police Sector along with sector police members who arrived at the scene initially dispersed the clashing crowd. Not long after, personnel from the Southeast Maluku Police Resort, fully armed, arrived at the location and succeeded in quelling the clash. The clash was claimed to be under control around 00:40 WIT. However, the clash erupted again after villagers from the two youth groups, Ohoitom and Danar Ternate youths, attacked each other in retaliation for throwing stones at houses around 12:00 WIT. The Head of Public Relations of Maluku Regional Police, Commissioner Pol Rosita Umasugi, stated that as a result of the clash, one villager with initials FAR (25) died. Meanwhile, three police officers were injured by arrows: Deputy Police Resort Chief Kompol Djufri Jawa, Criminal Investigation Unit Chief AKP Barry Talabessy, and patrol unit member Bripda Siswanto Sofyan. As for the villagers injured by arrows, there were a total of three: Fahri Farhan Hanubun (22), Muhammad Sahlan Sedubun (17), and Abubakar Harusun (37). The clash also caused villagers to lose their homes, with a total of three houses completely burnt, four houses severely damaged, and one motorbike also burnt.