Seven killed as unrest strikes troubled Ambon

AMBON, Maluku (JP): At least seven people were killed and 18 others were injured as renewed communal clashes hit the troubled capital of South Maluku in the past two days.

About 10 houses and three military barracks in Batu Merah Dalam area were set ablaze by mobs, local police chief Lt. Col. Ghufron said on Tuesday.

The fatalities were identified as Rinto Gunawan Hutul, 20, Haysim Rumadhan, 29, Yopie Salakory, 26, Edgar Maspaitella, 20, Rudy Nussy, 18, Agus, 33, and Luhu Kay, 20.

All but Hasyim, who died after a makeshift bomb exploded, were killed by bullet wounds.

The injured also suffered gunshots and shrapnel from homemade bomb blasts. They were rushed to Al Fatah Hospital and Dr. Haulussy General Hospital in the city's downtown.

Among the injured was First Pvt. Suryo Edi of the 11th Artillery Battalion, who was shot during an outbreak of violence at the military housing complex at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday.

Communal clashes involving residents of Batu Merah Dalam and Karangpanjang areas lasted until 4 a.m. local time on Tuesday, later spreading to the border area of Mardika-Batu Merah Pantai and Diponegoro-Batu Gajah in Sirimau subdistrict.

Security personnel restored order and dispersed the mob later in the day. Despite the tension, markets and stores reportedly resumed activities.

The conflict began when homemade bombs were thrown at the military barracks in Batu Merah Dalam, which was subsequently gutted by fire.

Police said they could not identify who bombed the barracks, but it appeared to be a protest against the military's inability to prevent arson attacks on mosques and churches in the province.

A fire brigade owned by the provincial administration was sent to extinguish the fire at the dormitory.

It was believed the riot was triggered by the arson of two houses of worship in Batu Merah Dalam by mobs at 11:30 a.m. on Monday. One of the buildings is located in the vicinity of the military housing complex.

Residents who asked for anonymity said both the Muslim and Christian communities were angered by the failure of soldiers to defend a church and a mosque.

Separately, the Maluku Police also reported that 18 people died in Ternate, the capital of North Maluku, and 10 others were killed in Sua Siu, the central town of Central Halmahera regency, during two days of riots over the weekend. At least 13 places of worship and hundreds of houses were burned in the violence.

People fleeing the restive new province continued to stream into Manado in North Sulawesi on Tuesday.

Sectarian clashes in the province have claimed more than 500 lives since they first broke out in Ambon in mid-January.

Meanwhile, activists grouped in the Nuku Indonesian Student Association (Hipmin) called on President Abdurrahman Wahid and his Cabinet on Tuesday to bring to a halt the incessant violence in Maluku.

"We want the riots to end and for the people to start their lives anew. Immediate repairs to the province's infrastructure must be done," group coordinator Abdul Khalish said in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi. (48/edt)