Maluku communal clashes claim at least 217 lives

AMBON, Maluku (JP): A total of 217 fatalities were recorded in communal clashes across the province between July and September, police said on Tuesday.

Maluku Police chief Col. Bugis Saman told a media conference that the number of casualties was likely to be higher due to unconfirmed reports by people of missing relatives.

"We have registered only identified casualties. There are many reports of missing people or victims who remain unknown after being buried."

Apart from the dead, which included a member of the security personnel, 422 people sustained severe injuries and over 200 others suffered minor wounds during the three-month period, the second phase of religious conflicts that have devastated the archipelagic province.

More than 1,500 houses, 13 churches, seven mosques, five government buildings and four school buildings were attacked, as well as 21 cars, eight motorbikes and 57 three-wheeled motorized vehicles.

About 350 people were killed in the first wave of clashes which hit the province between January and March this year. Violence initially broke out in the provincial capital Ambon and spread to neighboring islands. It resumed in July in remote islands and extended to Ambon.

Bugis, who has retained his post amid the turbulence in the famed Spice Islands, said 86 people were arrested in connection with the violence. He said 30 of them would be charged with illegal possession of weapons.

Police seized 50 homemade rifles and bazookas, 708 arrows, 16 spears, 18 machetes, 157 swords and homemade bombs plus dozens of bullets.

More than 31,000 people have fled their homes across the province and are now sheltered in government offices, seaports, mosques, churches and military installations.

Bugis' report came hours after seven people were wounded from gunshots and a homemade bomb explosion in Ambon.

Witnesses said the clash occurred at 6 a.m. local time when a group of people attacked residents in Hatiwe Kecil subdistrict, about five kilometers from downtown. Many residents were still asleep when the attack took place.

They said a number of security personnel opened fire on the groups.

A Hatiwe Kecil resident, Jefry Nahumuri, said he was taken by surprise and could not avoid being shot in the left calf. "I only saw that the man was wearing a military beret," Jefry said.

Jefry and three of his neighbors were admitted to the private Dr. Haulussy Hospital.

Chief of the local police Lt. Col. Ghufron could not be reached for comment, but one of his staff, Sgt. Lodar, confirmed the clash and said all the victims were treated at Haulussy hospital.

Business, government and educational activities continued in several areas despite the clash. (48)