Poso calm after bomb blast

Poso calm after bomb blast

Erick W.
The Jakarta Post
Palu

The situation in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, returned to
normal on Saturday, one day after a bomb explosion that killed a
woman in a bus, but police kept closed the road where the blast
had occurred.

The crowd, which had begun to gather at the bomb site on
Friday night, had dispersed, Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr.
Unggung Cahyono said by telephone on Saturday.

He said locals in Poso had returned to their normal
activities.

The bomb killed 18-year-old Eta and wounded severely four
others, including the bus conductor who triggered the explosion
when he opened the bag inside which the bomb was concealed.

All victims were passengers on a bus heading to Poso town
along the trans-Sulawesi highway. The bus driver found the bomb
inside a bag lying on the road and asked his conductor to pick it
up.

A second bomb reportedly exploded after someone threw it
against the side of the bus and it apparently killed Eta.

The incident occurred close to a security post. Locals, who
tried to pursue the bomber, were angered when security personnel
refused to join the chase. As more people gathered at the scene,
police closed the road, Antara reported.

The incident was the second bus bombing since the Malino peace
agreement, which was signed last December. The first occurred on
June 5, 2002, on the highway, claiming five lives.

The region has been the location of fighting between Muslims
and Christians, although clashes abated after the two warring
groups signed the government-sponsored peace accord. Sporadic
violence, however, continues. Eleven have died, including those
from a bomb explosion in June.

"We call on locals to remain calm and not be provoked (into
committing any form of aggression)," said Sulaiman Manar, who
chairs the working group of the Malino peace agreement.