Eight injured in Maluku clash

AMBON, Maluku: At least eight people were injured in a clash between two rival villages in Central Maluku regency on Maluku Islands, where some 6,000 people were killed in sectarian fighting from 1999 to 2001.

Police and residents said on Thursday that the victims sustained injuries from bomb explosions during the clash on Wednesday evening between rivals in Kabauw and Rohomoni villages.

Most of the wounded people were from Rohomoni and only one was from Kabauw. All eight were hospitalized, including Asapati Sangadji, 38, who sustained serious injuries.

It was not clear what caused the fighting that started when local people were slaughtering animals at a mosque in Rohomoni during Idul Adha celebrations.

According to Muslims in the two rival villages, this year's Idul Adha fell on Wednesday, not Sunday as set by the government and recognized by others across Indonesia.

At the time, a homemade bomb was suddenly thrown into the crowd by suspects allegedly from Kabauw. A number of people later collapsed, witnesses said.

A few hours later, another bomb exploded near the area bordering the two villages that have often been involved in clashes, they added.

The blasts sparked tension among them, but the situation was immediately brought under control after police deployed dozens of personnel to the scene. --JP

;JP;KDA; ANPAa..r.. Relocation-Squatters-Palu Squatters to be moved from park JP/5/DONGI

Squatters to be moved from park

PALU, Central Sulawesi: At least 200 families of squatters will this year be relocated from the Lore Lindu National Park (TNLL) in the Dongi-Dongi area, Central Sulawesi.

Central Sulawesi manpower and transmigration office head Taufik Tiangso said on Thursday the squatters would be moved to Sabang and Lende areas on the west coast of the province.

The squatters are among at least 1,030 families from four villages of Kamarora A, Kamarora B, Kadidia and Rahmat in Palolo subdistrict, Donggala regency, who have been illegally occupying the Dongi-Dongi area, a vital water catchment, since July 2001.

The squatters claim that they occupied the area because they had difficulty finding farming land in Palolo, which according to them was mostly controlled by migrants and local officials.

The occupants then occupied around 4,000 hectares of forest areas inside the park, where they planted cacao and other crops. --JP