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.