AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, Wednesday December 19, 2001 1:24 PM
Gunmen kill nine Christians in Indonesian city
AMBON, Indonesia, Dec 19 (AFP) - Gunmen shot dead nine Christians travelling in a
boat in the riot-torn eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, residents and hospital sources
said Wednesday
Six women and three men were killed Tuesday, a nurse at the Halong navy hospital
told AFP.
"The bodies of the victims have been claimed by their relatives, we're still treating one
woman for gunshot wounds," said the nurse, who declined to be named.
All nine victims were Christians, a local journalist said, adding that speedboat
services between two localities had been suspended.
Ambon's sectarian violence has often taken place at sea. On December 12, an
explosion rocked a commercial boat carrying Christians in the same bay, killing seven
people.
Last month gunmen in a speedboat shot dead three passengers in another boat.
Fighting between Muslims and Christians in the Malukus has left more than 5,000
people dead and created some half-a-million refugees since sectarian violence first
erupted in the town of Ambon, on the island of the same name, in January 1999.
The conflict prompted the government to slap civil emergency rules in the Malukus
last year.
Copyright © 2001 AFP. All rights reserved.
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