Minibus driver shot dead in latest Central Sulawesi attack
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.