Seven killed in Manggarai riots

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: At least seven people were reportedly killed, dozens others injured and 37 houses set ablaze when two villages in Manggarai regency, East Nusa Tenggara province were involved in communal clashes earlier this week.

The clash stemmed from a dispute over customary land bordering the villages of Kadel and Tontong Desa Watulungor in Poco Ranaka subdistrict, which led residents of the two villages to attack one another. Among the victims of the bloody clash was a 5-year- old child identified as Frans Nasus.

Some of the residents of the two villages were reported to have fled their settlements to seek refuge in neighboring villages for fear of revenge attacks.

In the meantime, a local paper reported that during the last 11 months, clashes between the two villages had claimed 14 lives, injured dozens of people and burnt down 56 houses. Material losses are estimated to have reached tens of millions of rupiah. --JP