Missing man found dead after new in Poso attacks

Missing man found dead after new in Poso attacks

La Remmy, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi

A 26-year-old man, who was reported missing on Oct. 12 when
masked gunmen raided several villages and killed at least nine
people in Central Sulawesi, was found dead on Thursday, police
said.

Spokesman for the Central Sulawesi Police headquarters Adj.
Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto said the body of Susanto Jafar was
discovered floating in a river at around 8 a.m. by civil servant
Marius Beba from Lawanga neighborhood, Poso Kota subdistrict.

He said Marius reported the body to the nearby police who then
retrieved Susanto's body and took him to Poso General Hospital
for an autopsy.

The police were looking for witnesses to investigate the death
of the victim, Sugianto added.

He said Susanto had been reported missing by his family last
Sunday after a group of masked gunmen launched dawn raids on
three villages in Poso Pesisir subdistrict, killing nine people.

Susanto, a fish vendor operating across Poso Pesisir -- some
15 kilometers from downtown Poso, was believed to have been
abducted by unidentified people.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufiq Ridha could
not say on Thursday whether the disappearance of Susanto was
related to Sunday's attacks, saying security forces were
investigating the case.

The police and military are engaged in joint search for the
mysterious gunmen across Poso, security officers said but would
not reveal the number of personnel involved.

Chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who ended a
two-day visit to Central Sulawesi on Thursday, said the
authorities launched an intelligence operation as well to find
the hideouts of the gunmen and stop renewed attacks in the
regency.