Two killed in latest Ambon violence

JAKARTA (JP): At least two people were killed and 34 more injured in fresh communal clashes in the scarred Maluku capital of Ambon on Tuesday, witnesses and hospital sources said.

Witnesses told The Jakarta Post by phone that violence first erupted at about 10 a.m. in the downtown area of A.Y. Patty, where at least 40 shops were set on fire.

Dozens of security personnel were rushed to the area, and fired warning shots to disperse the angry mobs.

Yance Kakerisa, a staff member at the Haulusi General Hospital, said that at least two people, including a seven-month- old baby boy, were brought dead to the hospital.

"Tomas Nusi, 44, was shot dead in the head by the security personnel and the baby was killed when his parents' house on Jl. A.Y. Patty was set on fire," Yance told the Post.

He said the parents, two other family members and 25 other people were admitted to the hospital suffering from burns, bullet wounds and slash wounds.

Jon, who works at the Bakti Rahayu Hospital, said that at least five other people suffering from bullet wounds were brought to the hospital.

"Three of them are now still being treated here," Jon said.

Witnesses said shops and businesses were immediately closed following the riots and groups of people carrying sharp weapons were seen on alert and patrolling their own neighborhoods.

Witnesses said that at least three cars were also set on fire.

"It is still tense now and warning shots could still be heard sporadically," a resident said, adding that at least 2,000 people had fled to nearby mosques, churches and military barracks fearing further unrest.

Witnesses said most of the shops in the A.Y. Patty area are owned by ethnic Chinese, who so far had not been affected by the months of clashes between Muslims and Christians that first erupted in the city in mid-January.

The Maluku islands saw months of communal violence earlier this year that left more than 350 dead and massive destruction.

Maluku Military Commander Brig. Gen. Max Tamaella was quoted by Kompas daily as saying on Monday he had sought an extra battalion of troops from outside the province following clashes on the outskirts of Ambon since Saturday.

Witnesses said violence was triggered by the torching of several Muslim homes in the Poka low-cost housing complex area across the bay over the weekend.

The weekend violence left at least one man dead, seven injured and about 60 houses burned.

The province has already been reinforced with four additional battalions of troops, or some 2,600 men, and three companies from the elite police Mobile Brigade. (byg/48)