Fresh riot kills eight in Poso
La Remmy, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi
Fresh violence broke out in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, killing at least eight people and injuring seven others on Sunday, sparking fears of the resurgence of sectarian fighting in the religiously divided town.
Police claimed only eight people died when a group of gunmen, wearing face masks, attacked the three villages of Saatu, Pantangolemba and Pinedapa at dawn.
However, doctors at a Poso hospital put the death toll at nine, while local Muslim figure Sulaiman Mamar, who led the peace taskforce, said the number killed was 15.
"The attacked villages are Christian-dominated areas, and I have received a report that 15 people died in the incident," he told The Jakarta Post.
Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha said the rampage was linked to Friday's attack on the neighboring regency of Morowali, in which three people were killed, five others badly injured and 30 houses and a church burned.
Also on Sunday, firefight erupted in Morowali between police and a group of at least 13 attackers, he said, adding that one of the gunmen was shot but escaped arrest when he jumped into a river.
"We continue to look for the shot gunman. If he is arrested, it will help unveil the identity of the attackers and their motive," Taufik told a news conference in Palu, Central Sulawesi after arriving back from Poso.
He said the renewed attack in Poso forced local villagers to flee to safety. "(But) even though people were running, the gunmen targeted them."
Taufik said the perpetrators fled to the mountain shortly after the attacks on the three villages.
The nine killed were identified as Traniadi, Allo and Lisman from Saatu village; Yohanes, Marwas, Patrian, Martina, Ayub and Sinta of Pantangolemba village, doctors said.
All the seven injured had been shot or stabbed and are being treated at the Poso General Hospital.
Taufik admitted that they could not identify the attackers nor the motive behind the violence that shattered the fragile peace accord made between Muslim and Christian leaders in December 2001.
The fresh attack came months after reinforcement troops were pulled out of Poso as peace was largely restored there.
Sulaiman further said it was almost hard to believe that local people were behind the renewed violence, arguing that they had long exhibited evidence that they were sick of fighting.
"The attackers must be outsiders (attempting) to incite fresh rioting. We suspect that jealousy among security officers is the reason behind the latest violence," he remarked.
The local Muslim figure said there were unconfirmed reports that the military forces assigned to Poso were jealous as most of the assistance from the local administration was channeled to the police.
"The police have just received 120 motorcycles and seven cars to help smooth their duties in Poso, while none of the local military personnel has got anything. But, it is an unconfirmed report... we do not know anything yet," he said.
To prevent the violence from spreading, the police were deploying three companies of around 100 personnel, including those from Jakarta, to Poso, Taufik said.
He said the police were also checking the IDs of all those entering or leaving the regency in an attempt to restore security and find the attackers.
Poso was plagued by two years of religious conflict since 2000, killing some 2,000 people and forcing thousands of others to flee.
The militant Laskar Jihad group was blamed for worsening the fighting in Poso, before it left the regency last year.
Sunday's attack was the most serious incident after the peace deal.
"We are afraid that it will bring back the horrifying experience of fighting among ourselves, just as it was before," Sulaiman said.