Death toll hits 45 in Maluku rioting

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)