Poso attacks spark fears of more violence
Poso attacks spark fears of more violence
The Jakarta Post, Palu/Makassar
A wave of renewed attacks in Poso, Central Sulawesi, has sparked
fears of an upsurge in religious violence after months of
relative peace in the once riot-wracked town, where security
forces are now on a heightened state of alert.
The latest attack occurred as a gang of masked men fired shots
at a policeman and school teacher, while on a motorcycle at
Lembomowo village, Poso subdistrict, on Friday afternoon.
The shots critically injured First Brig. Petrian Malangi, a
member of the Lage Police, and the woman teacher, Marlian Lapano,
police said.
They said the gunmen sprayed bullets at Petrian, who was
taking the school teacher home on his motorbike.
The victims, both Christians, were in critical condition and
being treated intensively at the hospital, as they had lost a lot
of blood, Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Taufik Ridha
said on Saturday.
He declined to speculate on the identity of the gunmen, but
said they did not resemble regular criminals. The motive behind
the incident was as yet unknown.
Local police said they had deployed additional personnel to
hunt down bombers and gunmen.
The shooting followed a bomb explosion in Poso on Thursday
night, which left four people injured, with at least one,
identified as Sutrisno, 40, in a critical condition.
Sutrisno had his right leg and left hand amputated after a
bomb attack at a food stall, which also wounded three other
victims -- Tini Alimin, 36, Melki, 33, and Fela, 2.
Earlier on Wednesday, gunmen shot dead Yulius Ledo Pamimi, a
32-year-old resident of Saatu village, Poso.
Police remain in the dark about the culprits, as the bullets
that killed Yulius could not be recovered because his family
refused to permit an autopsy to be performed.
Another bomb also exploded two weeks ago in Kawua village,
Lage subdistrict, as local residents held a traditional dance
party. No injuries were reported in that blast.
In May, two other people were also shot dead by snipers in
another part of Poso.
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar acknowledged on
Sunday that the security situation had heated up again in Poso
after the bombings and mysterious shootings by unidentified
people.
"After the security situation in Poso had increasingly become
more stable and began to be restored, it (the violence) has
recurred now. Therefore, we are tightening up on security again,"
he said in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
Da'i said the police would continue to empower local people to
help ensure security in Poso.
He added that security often became a problem in the regency
each time the police planned to pull out reinforced personnel
from the region. He did not elaborate further.
The renewed violence has come after months of relative peace
in the region, once ravaged by bloody fighting between Muslim and
Christian gangs.
In December 2001, Muslim and Christian leaders signed a peace
accord brokered by the government to end two years of conflict
that had killed some 2,000 people. However, sporadic violence
erupted occasionally.
Despite the recent outbreaks of unexplained attacks, deputy
Central Sulawesi Police chief Sr. Comr. Sukirno claimed on
Saturday that security and order was under control in Poso.
He said that Poso people in general were not reacting
excessively to the shootings and bomb blasts.
"What happened was a one-off occurrence and we don't see any
further reaction from large groups," Sukirno said, as quoted by
Antara.
He added that he had sufficient personnel to keep any
incipient conflict in the regency under control.