Reinforcement troops arrive in Ambon

Reinforcement troops arrive in Ambon

JAKARTA (JP): A battalion of reinforcement troops arrived in
the Maluku capital of Ambon on Wednesday as violence continued
between Muslims and Christians in the riot-torn city, causing at
least 15 deaths since Tuesday, witnesses and a local military
spokesman said.

Spokesman for the Maluku Military Command Lt. Col. Iwa Budiman
told The Jakarta Post by phone on Wednesday that about 450
marines arrived at Pattimura Airport at around 10 a.m.

"They were flown by Hercules airplanes from the Juanda navy
air base in Surabaya," Iwa said, adding the marines had been
deployed to a number of volatile areas in the city.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) information center said in a
statement on Wednesday that the reinforcement troops were sent in
response to a request from Maluku Military Commander Brig. Gen.
Max Tamaella following clashes on the outskirts of Ambon since
Saturday.

Iwa also said that as of 9 p.m. Wednesday at least 15 people
had been killed and 123 more injured, including five security
personnel.

"Ten people were killed on Tuesday and five more on Wednesday.
They died of either bullet or slash wounds," Iwa said.

He also said that as of late Wednesday more than 200 shops and
houses, eight cars and 20 pedicabs had been set on fire by the
rioters.

"The city is still tense, both 'white' and 'red' groups
carrying crude weapons were still seen this morning on Jl. A.Y.
Patti," Iwa said, adding that dozens of troops had been deployed
there to keep the warring factions from clashing.

Locals have been using "white" and "red" to represent Muslims
and Christians respectively. The violence first erupted on Jl.
A.Y. Patti on Tuesday when dozens of shops owned by ethnic
Chinese were set on fire.

Malik Selang, an activist at the Al-Fatah mosque, said the
violence broke out in the area and the nearby street of Sultan
Babullah at around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

"The reds were trying to attack the Al-Fatah mosque so the
whites came out of the mosque and walked toward them," Malik
said, adding that security personnel then fired warning shots to
disperse the crowd.

He said security personnel aimed at the crowds as they defied
orders to disperse.

He also added that a member of the Mobile Brigade was seen
aiming at the crowd from the roof of a building.

Malik said that at least three people were shot dead by
security personnel and 22 more were wounded. His account,
however, could not be independently confirmed.

Both Muslims and Christians have accused security personnel of
taking the other's side.

Meanwhile, Antara reported that mobs set fire to shops and a
number of cars on Jl. Latuharhari and Jl. Pahlawan Revolusi and
clashes also took place in the Tanah Lapang Kecil area.

Witnesses said shops and businesses remained closed and public
transportation was not running. Groups of people carrying sharp
weapons were seen on alert and patrolling their own
neighborhoods.

"Both sides are also busy dousing fires. We can see burning
houses everywhere and gunshots and petrol bomb explosions can
still be heard sporadically," a resident said.

Witnesses said thousands of people had fled to nearby mosques,
churches and military barracks fearing further violence. They
said supplies of kerosene and basic needs were running low.

Iwa said the violence was triggered over the weekend by stone
pelting between Muslims and Christians and the torching of
several homes in the Poka low-cost housing complex across the
bay.

The incident then developed into full-scale riots in the
provincial capital on Tuesday, Iwa said.

The Maluku islands have seen months of communal violence,
which first erupted in Ambon in mid-January leaving more than 350
dead and a massive trail of destruction.

The weekend violence left at least one man dead, seven injured
and about 60 houses burned.

The province has already been reinforced with four additional
battalions of troops, or some 2,600 men, and three companies from
the elite police Mobile Brigade. (byg/48)