Police Claim Adonara Situation Conducive After Deadly Clashes
Police have claimed that the security situation in East Adonara Sub-district, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), is now conducive following a bloody clash between residents of Narasaosina and Waiburak villages.
“It is now conducive; on the ground people can go about their activities again, and the wheels of the economy have returned to normal,” said the East Flores Police Chief, AKBP Adhitya Octorio Putra, when contacted by CNNIndonesia.com regarding the situation at the clash site on Monday (20 July).
He said that after the bloody clash between the two groups of residents, which occurred on Saturday (18 July) at 06.30 local time, the security situation had returned to normal.
“Yesterday was rather tense after the clash, when we were about to evacuate the body of one victim lying on the main road. Officers on the ground faced obstacles because they were blocked by hundreds of people,” he said.
However, Adhitya said, after negotiations by the regional leadership forum (Forkopimda) and police officers with local figures, they were finally able to evacuate the body of the victim, named Hope, a 60-year-old resident of Narasaosina Village who was allegedly slashed during the clash.
Adhitya said that although the security situation is now conducive, joint TNI and Polri forces remain vigilant by conducting routine patrols.
To prevent further clashes and maintain conducive conditions, personnel from the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) have been deployed from Company 4 of the Maumere B Battalion and the NTT Provincial Police Brimob Unit. He also said a bomb disposal team (Gegana Brimob) had been sent to reinforce personnel on the ground.
He said that in securing the area, the police were working in synergy with the TNI from the East Flores District Military Command (Kodim) 1624 and the East Adonara Sub-district Military Command (Koramil).
“There are three posts used by the joint personnel, namely the Narasaosina Village Post, the Waiburak Post and the Susteran Post. The joint TNI-Polri personnel already on site consist of members of the East Flores Police, the East Adonara Sector Police, Kodim 1624, the local Koramil and Brimob,” he said.
Adhitya said the hundreds of Polri and TNI personnel placed on standby in East Adonara continue to monitor, sweep and patrol the areas of the two conflicting villages.
He said the bloody clash that occurred on Saturday (18 July) at 06.30 local time resulted in three residents killed, seven injured and twenty houses burned to the ground by the mob.
He said the police are currently focusing on maintaining the conducive conditions already achieved, in the interest of the general public. Investigation into the incident has found that the bloody clash was triggered by a dispute over customary land and territorial boundaries between Narasaosina and Waiburak villages.
“The police are currently investigating to identify the perpetrators involved in the killings and the burning of houses, so that they can be held legally accountable for their actions,” he explained.
He urged all parties to exercise restraint and to jointly safeguard the conducive situation that has been achieved so that the conflict does not recur.