Police clash with Matraman residents

JAKARTA (JP): Another clash between the police and residents broke out in the Matraman area of East Jakarta late on Saturday, with Jl. Matraman being closed for some hours following the incident.

No casualties were reported.

The clash occurred as the police tried to stop the residents from attacking the Mega Matra Hotel over the death of two local residents who were beaten up by the hotel's security guards last week.

A local, Yudi, 34, said, as quoted by Antara, that the move to attack the hotel had been brewing since Thursday after the death of Jerry Malaiholo and another resident, identified as Kadal.

During Saturday's incident, the police fired several tear-gas canisters to disperse the crowd.

Matraman is known for a prolonged feud among the residents of the area.

In a bid to put the long-standing conflict to an end, the city authorities built last year a fence along the street separating the two groups of community. (dja)