Residents block Ambon street

AMBON, Maluku: Residents from the Batumerah subdistrict blocked a main street in Ambon city from Friday night to Saturday morning to protest police detentions of several locals.

The blockade of a main thoroughfare leading into the Batumerah area caused large traffic jams. It was voluntarily called off after Ambon police Adj. Sr. Comr. Leonidas Braksan spoke to the demonstrators on Saturday.

Police had earlier detained residents from the area in their search for the perpetrators of string of armed attacks in the city, including the attack on the Villa Cafe in February that killed two people. -- JP