Eight bodies discovered after clash in Saparua

Eight bodies discovered after clash in Saparua

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Residents of riot-torn Sirisori village in
Saparua Island, Central Maluku, found eight bodies on Monday,
consisting of three soldiers and five civilians, in the debris
left behind by a clash on Sunday, a church official said.

The Klasis Maluku Protestant Church's secretary, P.G. Manopo,
said in Saparua that the five civilians were all clad in Muslim
outfits and were identified later as members of Laskar Jihad (the
Jihad Force).

Manopo, however, failed to give any further explanation and no
Laskar Jihad contacts could be reached for confirmation.

The bodies were found following a violent communal clash
between Sirisori villagers and residents of the neighboring
village of Ulath.

Manopo said the incident, which occurred in the no-man's-land
demarcating the two villages had initially left three Ulath
residents dead and three other people injured.

On Sunday evening, or several hours after the clash, the
secretary of the Indonesian Ulemas' Council (MUI)'s Maluku
chapter, Malik Selang, said that his organization was still
tracing the whereabouts of five Muslims missing in the affray.

He added that the disturbance had left at least five Muslim
residents seriously injured.

The Pattimura Military Command spokesman Capt. P.A.J. Heri,
said he had not yet received any reports about the death of three
soldiers but said that three soldiers from his command had
suffered serious wounds in the clash.

According to Manopo, the flow of refugees from Sirisori has
significantly increased in recent days, following public anxiety
over a military sweeping operation in their ravaged village.

Hundreds of residents, he said, had already fled the village
to seek shelter in the nearby forest or the Saparua district
office and that the number of refugees had been continuously
growing from day to day.

"Most of them are forced to go deep into the forest to avoid
the military's sweeping (against armed residents)," Manopo said.

The locals, he explained, had decided to abandon their
property in the village since such military operations, which
have been ongoing since late last month, often turned into
violent attacks, leaving the village residents traumatized.

Sweeping operations are mainly held to disarm local residents
and apprehend suspected rioters.

On Monday, the sweeping operation claimed the life of one
resident, who was reportedly on his way into the forest to join
the other refugees.

The situation in Saparua Island remained tense throughout the
rest of Monday and rumors had it that dozens of attackers were
following in the rear guard of the sweeping operation.

Separately, the Ambon-based Civil Emergency Post disclosed
that 192 combined military personnel and another 40 Police Mobile
Brigade (Brimob) members had been deployed to Saparua island on
Sunday morning.

The military reinforcements were deployed to conduct a
sweeping operation, while the police personnel were dispatched to
protect Sirisori village from armed attackers.

However, the Brimob personnel on Monday were still in Saparua,
about five kilometers from Sirisori village.

The emergency post's spokesman Agus Soukkotta quoted Saparua
Military Commander Col. A. Siswanto as saying that the military
wanted the postponement of the Brimob deployment to the village
until the completion of the sweeping operation so as to avoid
possible firefights between the military and police due to
limited means of communication between the two sides.

Local residents, however, opposed the authorities' plan for
military reinforcements to guard Sirisori village, demanding
instead that the Brimob personnel be assigned to guard their
village.

The residents accused the military of having taken sides in
the conflict.

Last month alone, attacks on Sirisori razed at least 340
houses and one church. Only 15 houses were left undamaged.
(49/lup)