Five injured as tension envelops Maluku capital

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Tension gripped this Maluku capital on Sunday following overnight clashes involving residents of a downtown housing complex in Poka subdistrict.

Five people were wounded and dozens of buildings damaged or burned in the unrest, the latest to rock Ambon after two months' respite. A mob also burned two cars.

Chief of Pattimura Military Command Brig. Gen. Max Tamaella said a body was found about one kilometer from the housing complex, but he refused to link the corpse to the incident.

"We are still identifying the body," Tamaella said after joining a patrol of the town.

Some residents said they believed the body was one of several people who fell victim to the clash, particularly because stab wounds were found on it.

Until Sunday evening, people were seen moving in groups across town, fearing further violence despite the presence of police and military reinforcements.

No public transportation operated throughout the day, and Ambon appeared a ghost town.

No less than 1,000 people, mostly women and children, have taken refuge in the Navy base, an Army dormitory, Al Fatah Mosque, Protestant churches in Galala and Rumah Tiga districts and Pattimura University campus.

The victims of the clash, all of them suffering stab wounds, are being treated at Latumeten Military Hospital.

At least seven houses were burned down and 20 others attacked on Saturday night when two groups of residents brawled. The clash spread to a housing complex nearby state-run Pattimura University.

Police have arrested at least 18 people allegedly caught committing arson and carrying weapons, including homemade firearms. Security authorities also seized dozens of swords, arrows, spears and firearms from the conflicting groups.

One of the detainees has been named a suspected provocateur, according to Tamaella.

"The man lives outside the housing complex. He was found stoning houses belonging to Christians as well as Muslims," Tamaella said.

He said a member of the Army was also apprehended for alleged "moves which arouse the public's emotion and temper". But Tamaella refused to identify the soldier, who is now in Military Police custody.

Ambon Police chief Lt. Col. Gufron said he suspected Saturday's clashes were provoked by attacks on some houses in the complex on Friday.

But there has been no official report on the motives behind the dispute, the number of casualties and financial losses resulting from the attacks.

Tamaella and Gufron, provincial police chief Col. Bugis Saman and Ambon military commander Lt. Col. Aris Martanto joined a patrol across town to ask people to exercise restraint.

Hundreds were killed in months of religious-related clashes that tormented the province since breaking out in mid-January. Less than two weeks ago, five people died in mass brawls between two groups of villagers on nearby Saparua Island, following an exchange of attacks on clove trees.

Some residents said on Sunday that tension had prevailed in the housing complex for a week, during which many civil servants living there had not gone to work. (34)