CRISIS CENTRE DIOCESE OF AMBOINA
Jalan Pattimura 32 -- Ambon 97124 -- Indonesia
Tel 0062 (0)911 342195 Fax 0062 (0)911 355337
E-mail: crisiscentre01@hotmail.com
Ambon, May 26, 2005
THE SITUATION IN AMBON/MOLUCCAS - Report No. 478
1. FIVE POLICEMEN KILLED BY GUNFIRE - At 3.00 a.m. on May 16, a group of
gunmen unexpectedly opened fire at a police security post in Loki, a village on the
south coast of West Ceram island. At that moment 14 Brimob police personnel were
sleeping there. Five of these were killed. Killed were also their civilian cook and one of
the attackers. The slain assailant may have been killed by the attackers themselves
after he had been seen wounded by gunfire from the attacked policemen. The
attackers numbered eight and had arrived by speedboat. It afterwards turned out that
two active police personnel were included.
In the late evening of that same Monday, one of the suspected attackers, identified as
Dahlan alias Asep, could be arrested in the Batumerah area of the city of Ambon. He
had a gunshot wound to his right hand. Detikcom Online News Portal reports that
police also found several guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition in that same house.
Dahlan is currently being incarcerated, along with the other suspects. Asep and
several others earlier had undergone military training at Moro, Philippines; they seem
to have been send to the Moluccas in order to carry out the assault.
The christian village of Loki was totally destroyed on August 18, 1999. The villagers
then had sought refuge at the not-far-off little town of Piru and been staying there as
IDP-s up to November 2002. From the very start of their return, they had encountered
much misfortune (see Report 328).
It is believed that the perpetrators of Monday's attack might also have been
responsible for a number of other attacks since as early as 2001. Meanwhile they
have informed the police about six other members of their gang, which seemingly has
its headquarters in Moro.
2. WEAPONRY FOUND AT MUSLIM ACADEMY CAMPUS - Information by one of
those detained following the Lokki shooting incident, named Idi Amin Tabirani
Pattimura alias Ongen Pattimura, led the police to uncovering a cache of weaponry at
the Muslim STAIN Academy, Ambon. Though not participating in the attack on the
Lokki Brimob quarters himself, Ongen is regarded as one of its plotters. The weaponry
found there included several thousands of bullets, several hundred bombs, a number
of standard rifles and other weaponry. One of the attackers, Sainuddin Nasir, was also
arrested at the STAIN compound. Drs Mohammad Attamimi, chairman of the
Academy, is currently out of town. This Attamimi once played a significant role in the
conflict, see for instance our Reports 168, 170 and 175.
C.J.Böhm msc,
Crisis Centre Diocese of Amboina |
