Laskar Jihad will leave Poso

Laskar Jihad will leave Poso

PALU, Central Sulawesi: Former chairman of the Central
Sulawesi branch of the "Ahlussunah wal Jamaah" Communication
Forum, which oversees the Laskar Jihad Muslim militia group,
Zabir, disclosed here on Monday that all members of the militia
would leave the Poso conflict area by the end of next month.

"All 200 members of the militia (mainly deployed to Poso)
will leave Central Sulawesi province by the end of next month at
the latest," Zabir told Antara.

On Saturday Oct. 12, the militia's commander Jafar Umar Thalib
dissolved Laskar Jihad, saying that the militia was no longer
needed as a legion.

He said the organization would alternate its activities to
serve in social and religious missions in the fields of
education, health care and Islamic propagation.

Following the dissolution, some 780 members left the Ambon
conflict area in Maluku province for their respective hometowns
in Java.

Meanwhile, Zabir pointed out that some 70 members had left
Poso, while the rest would be sent back to Java gradually.
"It is likely that I will be the last to go," he said. -- Antara