Poso buses restricted to daylight

Poso buses restricted to daylight

PALU, Central Sulawesi: Head of local transportation office Moehammad Soeseba has told all bus companies not to operate in volatile Poso regency after 5 p.m.

"The instruction is issued for the sake of people's safety," he said on Tuesday.

Soeseba added that the policy did not necessarily mean that the situation in Palu was unsafe. It was only a preventive action, he added.

"Based on our past experiences, security disturbances often change from time to time. It will be better to be safe than sorry," Soeseba said.

He disclosed that there were joint patrols by National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) officials at several checkpoints.

But, if the criminals or religious militants stopped the bus between the checkpoints at night, it would be difficult to anticipate, he added.

Poso has been wracked by Muslim-Christian conflict over three years. A fragile peace is in place now, since the announced disbandment of the Laskar Jihad, which was fomenting much of the violence there including several bus bombings. -- Antara