Street brawl in Bali broken up

NEGARA, Bali (JP): Dozens of youths from the villages of Banjar Tengah and Loloan in Negara, some 90 kilometers east of Denpasar, clashed in a massive street fight early Thursday.

No fatalities were reported, though a number of flower pots were overturned and a supermarket's front glass window was shattered.

Police dispersed the scuffle peacefully soon after arriving on the scene.

No arrests were reported.

Artawirata Dewa Putu, a resident of Jl. Gatot Subroto where the brawl took place, said the fight was the continuation of an earlier conflict between two groups of juveniles on Sunday.

"Those boys had a quarrel in a cafe on Jl. H.O.S. Cokroaminoto and police had to disperse them and arrest some of them," he told The Jakarta Post.

Sgt. Maj. Teja Sungkana of the Jembrana Police Precinct said Thursday's brawl was not an uncommon occurrence for residents and police in the area.

"Sunday's and Thursday's quarrels weren't the first. They've often happened here," he said.

He said residents of Banjar Tengah village, the majority of whom are Hindu, and residents of Loloan, who are mostly Moslem, had been known to fight over trivial matters. (28)