Curfew imposed after bomb blast

PALU, Central Sulawesi: Police in Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi, said on Sunday that a curfew had been imposed on Bunta subdistrict since last week following a bomb explosion there.

The five-hour curfew starts at midnight and is aimed at preventing the possibility of revenge attacks, Banggai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Guntur Widodo said in Palu, Central Sulawesi.

He argued that Bunta was susceptible to violence at night as the electricity supply there was cut off at midnight every night.

A bomb exploded outside a gas station in Bunta at around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 26, when the town was in darkness as a result of a power outage. No casualties or injuries were reported, however.

Guntur said the preliminary investigation showed the bomb was similar to those that had been detonated in the troubled province of Aceh, and Poso regency in Central Sulawesi, which was once wracked by two years of sectarian fighting that started in 2000 and which killed some 2,000 people.

However, he did not know whether the Bunta bombers were linked to those involved in the conflicts in Aceh and Poso.

"We don't have any evidence about that. We are still investigating the incident," Guntur said, adding that four people were being questioned as witnesses. --Antara