THE MARKET THAT WAS:

A day after being set ablaze by a group of people the Masomba traditional market in Palu, Central Sulawesi, was deserted on Sunday, with only smoldering debris remaining. The destruction of hundreds of kiosks at the market started on Friday, following the killing of Chief Brig. Zakir Mosi, who had led a cleanup and order operation at the market.

Mosi, an ethnic Kaili from Palu, was mobbed before finally a fish vendor stabbed him. A large crowd built up at the market looking for Mosi's killer, who was reportedly a Bugis man. Angered at finding no one, the Kaili people set the market ablaze on Friday night.

On Saturday Mosi died from the stab wounds, and this again provoked the anger of the Kaili people. They burned down another part of the market that day. Palu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Jasman Baso Opu said that police had arrested two other fish vendors, identified only as N, 36, and S, 35, as witnesses. Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Zainal Abidin Ishak said that the incident was a straightforward crime without an ethnic or racial background.

The fire resulted in losses totaling Rp 4 billion.