Death toll hits 45 in Maluku rioting

JAKARTA (JP): Tension continued to grip residents of Maluku on Friday as the death toll from the three days of communal clashes there rose to 45, up significantly from the previous day's figure of 24, local police said.

Maluku Police chief Col. Karyono was quoted by Antara as saying that 37 people had died in the provincial capital of Ambon, six in the village of Batubulang and two on the neighboring island of Sanana.

"The toll is expected to rise as we believe that a number of bodies are still trapped in the ruins of buildings destroyed during the clashes in Batubulang village on Thursday," Karyono was quoted as saying.

Karyono said that around 20,619 people had taken refuge in military complexes, mosques, churches and other buildings in the city.

The news agency also reported that foreigners had fled the riot-torn city on Friday and troops were still patrolling after three days of clashes.

Two chartered flights carrying 40 foreigners, mostly Americans and British, arrived in the North Australian city of Darwin on Friday after an overnight flight via East Nusa Tenggara.

Antara quoted an official of the Indonesian Consulate in Darwin, Agus Sardjana, as saying evacuation was conducted using aircraft from local operator Airnorth.

The news agency also quoted Radio Australia as saying that the evacuation was assisted by a Dallas-based organization known as Summer Institute Linguistics (SIL).

Meanwhile, Ambon was calm on Friday although many shops and businesses remained closed.

"Only a few shops opened this morning and they were packed with residents looking for food and other essentials," resident Mohammad Kasubah told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

As reported earlier, residents had been staying home and food had been scarce since the violence began on Tuesday.

"Supplies in those shops were running out so fast," Muhammad said, adding that public transport vehicles were not operating either.

Antara reported Muslims said their Friday afternoon prayers in several mosques in Ambon, tightly guarded by a number of Christian youth activists.

The violence was sparked by a fight between a Muslim migrant and a local Christian public transportation driver on Tuesday. The incident quickly degenerated into full-scale riots between members of both religious communities.

Churches and mosques were among the buildings burned.

Meanwhile, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto was due to arrive in Ambon on Friday evening.

The news agency said Wiranto would be accompanied by National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi who said on Thursday that at least 88 homes were set on fire during the riots, with a further 19 suffering heavy damage.

Police said mobs also burned at least 22 cars, 25 motorcycles, 33 shops and 12 street kiosks.

Wiranto will make a donation of Rp 500 million in cash to about 3,000 people who have taken refuge in military installations.

Earlier, Trikora Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring, who oversees Maluku and Irian Jaya, donated 10 metric tons of rice, 500 packages of instant noodles, powdered milk and medicine for the thousands who took refuge in the installations, Antara said.

Farther away from Ambon, violence took place in Tirtoyudho district in Malang, East Java on Thursday when a mob burned at least two pickup trucks and a house.

Antara quoted Malang Police chief Col. Aryanto Sutadi as saying that the violence was sparked by the killing of Sidik, 18, son of a local Muslim cleric in Taman Asri Tirtoyudho village, by a group of youths during a musical show in Tapal stadium on Wednesday.

Taman Asri villagers, armed with machetes and bats, then went to the stadium on Thursday morning and burned two cars parked there.

The news agency said that one of the attackers has been arrested.

At least seven outbreaks of violence in various parts of Indonesia were reported during the Idul Fitri holiday. (byg)