Fresh batch of Laskar Jihad enters Ambon

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)