Four injured in fresh Poso violence

Four injured in fresh Poso violence

POSO, Central Sulawesi (JP): A band of armed men wearing ninja
outfits wounded two villagers during their assault on a minivan
in the village of Pinedapa as tension continued to escalate here
on Wednesday.

A retaliatory strike followed later in the afternoon,
seriously wounding two locals.

No deaths were reported in the latest outbreak of violence to
hit the Central Sulawesi coastal regency.

In the morning ambush, the attackers, wielding knives and
guns, attacked and shot at two residents of Tokorondo identified
as Anto, 39, and Sudirman, 35, who were on their way to Poso.

Sudirman sustained minor wounds, while Anto was severely
injured and immediately rushed to the Poso hospital for emergency
treatment.

Security forces responded promptly to control the violent
clashes and disperse crowds to prevent the violence from
spreading. The provincial police claimed to have arrested two men
in Pinedapa and seized three firearms.

Religious conflicts between the region's Christian and Muslim
communities broke out in the middle of 2000, resulting in the
deaths hundreds of people in Poso.

Meanwhile, a Palu prosecution team submitted a counter
memorandum on Thursday in response to an appeal filed on behalf
of three prisoners sentenced to death in connection with the Poso
bloodshed last year.

Prosecutor Iskandar Sukirman said the brief rejected the
contents of the appeal request demanding the release of Fabianus
Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu, who were found guilty
of premeditated mass murder in the Poso riots.

The Central Sulawesi high court had upheld the Palu District
Court's death penalty based on conclusive evidence.

The convicts' attorneys, in presenting their appeal, should
have questioned the legal basis of the court decision rather than
the testimonies of witnesses, Iskandar added. (24)