Five killed in unrest in Luwu, dozens injured

Five killed in unrest in Luwu, dozens injured

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): Five were killed, dozens
more were injured, and around 90 houses were set alight during
brawls between residents from several villages in the district of
Sabbang in Luwu regency on Monday and Tuesday.

Residents and security personnel said that warring parties
had armed themselves with homemade firearms and an assortment of
crude weapons. The houses set alight were located in the villages
of Mari-Mari, Kampung Baru and Pompaniki, around 420 kilometers
north of here.

Police said that residents of Mari-Mari and Kampung Baru sided
against Pompaniki villagers. The tension then spread to several
other villages and quickly overwhelmed the outnumbered security
forces.

There were varying accounts of the number of casualties. One
version held that three people died and 87 houses were burned.

Mudjiwati, a nurse in the village of Massamba, shuddered when
she described the state of two corpses brought to her clinic. "I
could not stand to look at them, both bodies were badly
mutilated," she said.

Monday's unrest was the latest incident in a long-standing
dispute between the villages. Since last September, 12 people
have been killed, 70 more have been hospitalized, and 200 houses
set on fire.

Monday's unrest, according to First Lt. Sugito of the Luwu
military, was triggered by "revenge and drink." He did not
elaborate.

However, a spokesman for the Wirabuana Regional Military
Command, Maj. Joko Warsito told The Jakarta Post that the
situation in Luwu had become a complicated matter. "There are
frequent outbreaks of unrest, not all of which are triggered by
tribal animosity. Religion also comes into the equation. It's
becoming more difficult to handle," he said.

He acknowledged the security forces had been slow to react to
the situation and admitted that this had resulted in a higher
number of casualties, but said that the military had to act with
caution.

"We were being careful so that no innocent people were
victimized," he said.

He said he believed that there would be further casualties
given past precedents and the uneasy state of truce which now
hangs over the area.

"We recently made them agree to a truce, but it only lasted
for one week. After that, they were back at it again," he said.

Meanwhile, Antara reported on Wednesday that a brawl involving
residents of Oeleu and Lour villages in Bobonaro regency in East
Timor, some 138 kilometer west of provincial capital of Dili,
claimed one life while three other people went missing.

Provincial police spokesman Capt. Widodo said the unrest on
Monday was sparked with the reported disappearance of three Oeleu
villagers after cutting grass for a month at the neighboring
village of Lour.

"It all started with arguments between Oeleu villagers who
were seeking the three and the Lour. Then, a brawl erupted," he
said.

The unrest in Luwu and Bobonaro are the latest in a series of
riots which has swept across the country. In November, riots
broke out in Jakarta, Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara and West Sumba
in West Nusa Tenggara.

More recently, rioting broke out in Poso, Central Sulawesi,
and Jeneponto, South Sulawesi. The latter incident took place on
Christmas Eve.

Unrest has also broken out in a number of towns and cities
around Java.

Experts have attributed the wave of unrest to economic
hardship now besetting millions of Indonesians. (37/30/27)