Fresh batch of Laskar Jihad enters Ambon

AMBON, Maluku (JP): Another 600 members of the Laskar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah entered Ambon through Yos Sudarso Port in the early hours of Sunday, Pattimura Military Command Chief Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela said.

The group was on board the KM Bukit Siguntang which arrived around 3 a.m. From there they headed straight to Al Fatah Mosque, which is only 50 meters away.

An exasperated Tamaela could not hide his displeasure upon hearing this latest news.

"It is giving me a migraine. Why didn't the officials in Tanjung Perak Port (in Surabaya) stop them...and what happened to the other military commanders? We are overburdened with problems here. Why doesn't anybody understand? Why were they allowed to enter?" he asked on Monday.

"Under the circumstances, the Maluku administration has no choice but to block off the port," he said.

Accounts on the total number of Jihad Force members who have entered Ambon vary from 1,100 to 2,200.

Speaking after a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Pattimura Military Command, Tamaela said Laskar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah chairman Jafar Umar Thalib was included among Sunday's arrivals.

Jafar boasted in the past that he would gather 3,000 volunteers to be sent to Ambon through Tanjung Perak Port in Surabaya, the capital of East Java.

Tamaela also said that the authorities would remain staunch in their decision to stand by a one-month deadline for Jihad Force members to leave the island or else face forced expulsion.

He also said that he had followed up reports from local community leaders who claim that various cargo ships were secretly transporting ammunitions.

"We have checked the ships but no weapons or ammunition were found. The bottom line is, we will stick to our plan to remove them from the island," Tamaela said. (49/edt)