Two men attacked by mob in renewed Ambon violence

Two men attacked by mob in renewed Ambon violence

JAKARTA (JP): Two men were attacked by a mob in renewed
violence in the riot-torn Maluku capital of Ambon on Monday.

There was confusion on the status of the victims. Antara
reported the two died on the way to hospital but hospital sources
told The Jakarta Post they were critically wounded and receiving
treatment.

The agency said Maj. Gen. Suaidy Marasabessy, head of a
special military task force sent to Ambon on Sunday to restore
order, confirmed the deaths on Monday.

"I have checked the latest development and two people have
been confirmed killed," Suaidy, who is also Wirabuana Regional
Military Commander, was quoted as saying before attending a
closed meeting with Maluku Governor Saleh Latuconsina and Trikora
Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring.

The men were identified as Alfaris Latumeten, 26, and Hans
Timisela. They were attacked in the city's Pohon Mangga area at
about 7:10 a.m.

A staff member on the emergency ward of Ambon General Hospital
told the Post by phone on Monday that the men were being treated
at the hospital and were in serious condition from stab and slash
wounds.

"They were admitted to the hospital this morning and taken
directly to the operating room. They are now still in critical
condition but they are not dead," Angel told the Post.

The news agency quoted witnesses as saying that the two were
riding a motorcycle when they were stopped and attacked by a
group of people armed with machetes, arrows and spears in Pohon
Mangga in Air Salobar village.

The agency reported the two previously stopped at the nearby
Taman Makmur area and asked a number of security personnel in the
area whether it was safe to pass through Pohon Mangga.

It said the attack followed clashes between residents of Pohon
Mangga and Benteng Atas areas on Sunday night.

At least seven houses in Benteng were set on fire by Molotov
cocktails and more than a dozen people were injured after
security personnel opened fire on mobs on Sunday and early
Monday, the news agency said. At least two were reportedly killed
over the weekend.

Warning shots were also heard on early Monday in the Patty
shopping center and Batu Gantung area, Antara said.

At least four houses in Batu Gantung were also set on fire on
Monday.

Blasts were also reported near a police dormitory in Perigi
Lima where security personnel fired several warning shots to
disperse crowds.

The agency reported that at least two utility vehicles were
also set on fire in Batugajah and Passo on Monday.

Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. Wiranto sent 19 military
officers, who were either born in Maluku or indigenous, to the
riot-torn city on Sunday in a bid to halt weeks of clashes with
religious overtones.

Authorities said more than 170 people have died and 400 others
have been injured since Muslim-Christian clashes erupted in the
province in mid-January.

They also said about 3,575 houses were set on fire in the
weeks of violence which have caused more Rp 500 billion in
material losses.

Thousands have taken refuge in mosques, churches, military
installations and other government buildings in Ambon. Thousands
more have fled the city by ship for their hometowns in Southeast
Sulawesi and South Sulawesi.

In the South Sulawesi capital of Ujungpandang, Abdul Halim, a
student representative from Pattimura University in Ambon, said
on Monday about 2,500 students from the university requested
transfers to universities in South Sulawesi and Southeast
Sulawesi due to the unrest.

The violence was sparked by a dispute between a Muslim migrant
and a local Christian driver of a public minibus on Jan. 19.
(byg/27)