Six wounded during intervillage brawl

PEMALANG, Central Java: Security forces firing into a mob during a fight between residents from two villages in Central Java wounded six people.

Hundreds of residents of the Sugihwaras and Widuri villages in Pemalang were involved in clashes on Saturday, and security personnel fired into the mob after warning shots were ignored.

The attack by villagers from Sugihwaras also left one shop burned and several houses damaged in the village of Widuri.

The violence was the second outbreak of fighting between the two villages after an earlier clash on Wednesday left dozens injured and at least 25 houses damaged.

The fighting was allegedly sparked by rumors that a Sugihwaras villager had been mobbed to death by Widuri residents after a road accident. The man had actually died in the hospital from injuries suffered during the accident. (45/edt)