Police paratroops deployed to Poso

PALU, Central Sulawesi: About 600 Mobile Police Brigade officers have been deployed in Poso since Saturday to increase security in the area, a senior police officer said on Monday.

Central Sulewesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Rais Adam said police would work to maintain peace in the troubled province, and safeguard the area during the direct regional elections in June this year.

There are currently some 2,400 regular police officers and Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers stationed in the area.

Sectarian conflicts broke out in Poso in 2000, killing some 2,000 Muslims and Christians. -- JP