Thirteen massacred in C. Sulawesi village attack

JAKARTA (JP): Thirteen mutilated bodies have been found in the village of Buyung Katedo, some 16 kilometers south of Poso, Central Sulawesi, following a Tuesday dawn massacre by masked men in black, local police officers and residents said.

Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Djasman Baso Opu said that the 13 victims were badly mutilated, leaving their bodies hardly recognizable.

"What the attackers did is totally cruel and worse then what was committed during the (1965) communist abortive coup," Djasman said, as quoted by Antara.

The news agency also reported that most of the victims were women and children.

"All the bodies were buried late on Tuesday," one of the villagers Din said, adding that some Poso residents and local administration officers attended the mass funeral.

A witness claimed that the dawn attack was conducted by a group of people wearing black masks on Tuesday.

During the attack a mosque and a refugee camp were burned, before the assailants left the village and headed for the forest.

Local police were notified after two residents managed to flee and report the massacre.

When police finally arrived, they immediately evacuated victims to Poso general hospital.

However, no trace of the attackers was found.

"We're going to find the attackers," Djasman asserted, while adding that he had sent a group of police officers to hunt them down.

Poso and the surrounding area has remained gripped in tension with sporadic flareups since sectarian clashes broke out in 1999, claiming some 200 lives.

Over the weekend, fresh violence again erupted in Poso resulting in the deaths of three people.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has sent some 700 new troops to improve security in the area.

Djasman, who was installed as police chief last month, further contended that it was impossible for police to cover the whole area of Poso due to their limited personnel.

He added that police only found out about the latest incident six hours after it occurred due to their limited resources. (dja)