Communal brawl erupts in Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: A brawl between two neighboring hamlets in Mambal village, some 15 kilometers north of here, left one house, one family temple and a motor scooter badly damaged on Sunday night.

No fatalities were reported in the incident.

An eyewitness reported that the brawl started at 5 p.m. local time and ended a few hours later after the police arrived at the scene.

The incident started when several men of Lambing hamlet stormed into the house of resident Ketut Ardika in Samu. Ardika called in some neighbors for protection.

During the clash the Lambing residents damaged one house and a motor scooter belonging to a Samu villager.

There was no official statement on the cause of the brawl.

A local source said that the brawl was triggered by a feud between Ketut Ardika and I Gusti Ngurah Aryata, the leader of Lambing village.

Another source, meanwhile, said that the conflict was sparked by the plan of Lambing people to break the dominance of Samu hamlet over their hamlet. (zen)