Police find live bomb in Poso but area still calm
Police find live bomb in Poso but area still calm
Irvan NR and Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi
The police found an active bomb on Sunday in a suburban area of
the regency of Poso, Central Sulawesi. In recent times the
regency has been subject to sporadic attacks by unidentified
parties.
A local resident had reported to police the location of a
suspicious package near a bridge in the neighborhood of Mogenko,
close to the border of Kayamanya.
The bomb was discovered in a black plastic bag amid garbage
near the bridge, according to the police and witnesses.
Bomb squad officers from Poso Police detonated the bomb around
30 minutes after they arrived at the scene.
The senior police officer in charge of the operation, Adj. Sr.
Comr. Agil Assegaf, confirmed that it was a low-explosive bomb.
He claimed that local residents were not worried about the
discovery and were carrying out their daily activities as usual.
On Jan. 4, security authorities equipped with metal detectors
had carried out a raid on sharp weapons in Tabalu village, Poso
Pisisir subdistrict. They had found three homemade bombs and a
firearm in the raid.
The homemade bombs were found in the deserted house of a local
resident Sujono, while the firearm was found in another empty
home belonging to his neighbor Muksin.
Agil claimed that the security situation in Poso was
continuing to improve. Public transportation was running
normally, indicating that people were not afraid to leave their
homes.
However, Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdi Darma said the
town had been placed under the status of Alert I as further
attacks were possible.
He said the police and military would continue to conduct
raids on firearms, explosives and sharp weapons in the town.
Abdi said the raids, targeting Poso Pesisir and Poso Kota,
involved more than 400 police personnel and soldiers.
"We are also dispatching bomb squads", he added.
Some 2,000 people were killed in two years of sectarian
violence in Poso since 2000. The bloody clashes largely subsided
after a peace accord between Muslim and Christian leaders in
February 2002.
Meanwhile, Central Sulawesi Police and the Poso administration
organized a mass circumcision for as many as 187 boys from 18
villages across the town on Saturday.
"The mass circumcision is part of our program to help the
children of refugees in Poso. It is also aimed at encouraging
closer ties between local people and the police," Central
Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto said.
He said that at least 14 doctors and 21 paramedics from
community health centers in Poso had been involved in running the
program.