Minibus driver shot dead in latest Central Sulawesi attack

Agencies, Jakarta

Local police said unidentified gunmen shot dead the driver of a public minibus on Monday in the troubled regency of Poso, Central Sulawesi, where sporadic attacks have continued despite a 2002 peace deal between Muslim and Christian leaders.

The victim was identified as Tomy Sanjaya, alias Imbo, 40, Antara reported. He was killed around 10 a.m. by two gunmen on a motorcycle in Tegalrejo subdistrict.

"He was hit in the head and died instantly," said Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdi Darma Sitepu as quoted by AFP.

Tomy was letting passengers off at an intersection when the motorcyclists appeared suddenly, fired three shots at him from the front of the minibus and sped off immediately toward Poso.

Police are hunting the two men down.

Abdi said the five passengers aboard the minibus, license plate number DN1552EA, escaped the incident unhurt.

He told Antara that the body of the victim was taken to Poso General Hospital for an autopsy. "From the autopsy, we will know the make and model of the gun used by the perpetrators."

Abdi said police were questioning several eyewitnesses in order to identify the suspects, adding that the preliminary investigation indicated the attack was purely a crime.

He urged local residents not to be provoked by the latest attack, and added Poso remained relatively peaceful and calm.

The incident comes four days after Christian subdistrict head Carminalis Ndele, 28, of Pinedapa, Poso Pesisir district, was found beheaded in a predominantly Muslim area of Poso.

His killers have not yet been apprehended.

The police declined to say whether the slain minibus driver was Christian or Muslim.

The two communities have been engaged in interreligious violence since 2000. More than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands of others displaced until the government brokered a peace deal in December 2002. However, tension remains and sporadic violence erupts in the area.

Earlier this year, a woman reverend was shot dead by unidentified attackers, thought to be the same group that had similarly killed a Christian prosecutor who had helped convict several terror suspects in Palu, Central Sulawesi.

Police have detained several suspects over the series of attacks, but no mastermind has yet been identified.

Officials said the renewed attacks were aimed at reviving sectarian fighting between Muslims and Christians.