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