Landmines injures a villager

AMBON, Maluku: A landmine exploded on Saturday morning in Kulur village, Saparua district, Ambon, injuring at least one villager.

A group of 40 Mobile Brigade police personnel were dispatched to the village to maintain order and take precautionary measures in a bid to prevent an escalation of the incident. A similar blast in the village early last month claimed three lives.

Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Soenarko said security personnel were investigating the case, but asserted that the situation was under control.

Ambon remains vulnerable to sectarian conflicts despite the peace agreement in February this year that was aimed at ending three years of Muslim-Christian bloodshed. The central government has yet to lift the emergency status imposed there in 2000. -- Antara