Rp 50m for info on Poso killers

Rp 50m for info on Poso killers

Antara, Palu

Police have announced a reward of Rp 50 million (about US$5,000) for anyone with information on the murderers of three Christian schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

The reward, which it is hoped will lead to a breakthrough in the investigation, was announced by National Police Headquarters and the Poso Law Enforcement Task Force.

The police also promised to protect anyone supplying information.

Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Rudy Sufahriadi said on Tuesday that the reward was aimed at encouraging people in Poso to come forward with information on the identities of the girls' killers.

Notices announcing the reward have been posted up in Poso city for the last three days in busy public places like markets, bus stations, shops and offices. The reward notices provide confidential phone numbers that people can call with information. The numbers are (0452) 2707757, (0452) 324845 and 081341284466.

The three Christian schoolgirls were decapitated by six machete-wielding men on motorbikes on Oct. 29 as the three were walking to school in Poso, a religiously-divided town that saw more than 1,000 people killed during a Christian-Muslim conflict in 2000 and 2001. That conflict subsided after a government- sponsored peace deal.

Just over a week after the attack, two female students were shot at in a drive-by shooting while sitting in front of a house in Poso.

Since the Oct. 29 attack, police have boosted security in Poso by deploying reinforcements to the area in a bid to prevent renewed clashes and to catch the perpetrators. Police have so far named one suspect in the beheading case and three suspects in the shooting incident.