Five injured as tension envelops Maluku capital
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)