Sumatra's police shoot 50 suspects

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: Police in Sumatra shot at least 50 suspects in the past three months, with two dying from gun shot wounds.

Chief detective Lt. Col. Yoyon Prasetyo told Antara on Saturday the suspects were allegedly involved in a number of armed robberies, some of which resulted in murders.

Yoyon said 24 of the suspects were shot in North Lampung, 20 in Central Lampung, with the rest in the provincial capital and South Lampung.

He said police shot dead Suprianto, 28, and Maryanto, 26, both Way Jepara residents in Central Lampung, because they assaulted police officers during their arrests.

Lampung Police chief Col. Gendro Budi Santoso, said a province-wide operation to safeguard motorists on roads widely perceived as vulnerable to robberies, was recently launched. The operation will last one month and involve five detective units, police special force members and traffic police.