LAKSAMANA.Net, May 16, 2005 05:23 PM
Unidentified gunmen staged a pre-dawn attack
Laksamana.Net - Unidentified gunmen have staged a pre-dawn attack on a Mobile
Brigade (Brimob) police post on Seram island, Maluku province, resulting in the
deaths of five police officers, one civilian and one of the attackers, officials said
Monday (16/5/05).
The attack occurred at about 3am in remote Loki village, West Seram district, when
an estimated six attackers opened fire at the post, where 14 Brimob personnel were
sleeping.
West Seram district acting head Cak Saimina was quoted by state news agency
Antara as saying five police and two civilians died in the exchange of fire. Other
officials said only one civilian, one of the gunmen, was killed.
"The tension in the village has subsided and the Maluku Police have sent personnel
and a helicopter to the location," said Saimina, adding that police were yet to discover
the motive of the attack.
Maluku Police spokesman Commissioner Endro Prasetyo confirmed the ambush,
saying the attackers had landed in a speedboat about 2 kilometers from the Brimob
post. The five surviving attackers later fled in the boat, he added.
He said police were yet to identify the slain attacker, who was believed to have been
wounded by police and then killed by his associates in an effort to cover their tracks.
The victim was said to be 170 centimeters tall with long hair and light brown skin.
The five dead Brimob officers were identified as Brigadier Ronny Susanto, Brigadier
Hasanuddin, Brigadier Teguh Aristianto, Brigadier Slamet Hariyanto and Damanik.
Their bodies were sent to a police hospital in the provincial capital of Ambon on
Monday afternoon.
One of their colleagues, Kasman, was wounded by shrapnel, while a local villager,
Said Pally, who was the cook for the Brimob unit, was also wounded in the attack,
Antara reported.
Maluku Police criminal investigation chief Bambang Hermanu told detikcom online
news portal that all five of the Brimob officers had been shot in the head and died
instantly. He said the unit's cook, who he identified as Etock, had suffered the same
fate.
The accuracy of shooting him convinced him the attackers were professionally
trained.
Major General Syarifuddin Sumah, chief of the Pattimura Military Command, which
covers Maluku, said a military company had been deployed to find the attackers.
"We will continue to pursue them," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
Prasetyo said police had gathered material evidence from the police post, including an
old SKS-type rifle, two homemade bombs, 63 bullet shells and a rifle magazine.
He said the attackers were apparently trained and seeking to provoke unrest.
The Maluku islands were the scene of fierce Muslim-Christian clashes that erupted in
January 1999 and left about 7,000 people dead until a peace agreement was reached
in February 2000. Sporadic violence has continued and communal tensions have
remained high.
Deadly sectarian riots erupted in Ambon in April 2004 after members of a banned
separatist group, the Maluku Sovereignty Front (FKM), rallied to celebrate the 54th
anniversary of the outlawed South Maluku Republic (RMS). The march turned violent
when Muslim nationalists hurled insults and stones at the Christian separatists,
sparking clashes between the two communities. As the violence intensified over the
following days, hundreds of buildings were torched and bombs detonated, while
unidentified snipers shot civilians and police. At least 41 people were killed during the
unrest.
In March 2005, there were two grenade attacks by unidentified men in Christian and
Muslim neighborhoods in Ambon. The attacks left several people wounded and
sparked further sectarian clashes.
In February, two people were killed when gunmen in speedboats opened fire at a
beachside karaoke club in Ambon. In the same month, two people were injured when
a ship sailing off of Buru island was sprayed with gunfire by assailants traveling in a
speedboat.
Members of the armed forces were accused of involvement in the 1999-2002 sectarian
strife in the Malukus, often taking sides with the opposing groups. Analysts
speculated that much of the violence had been engineered to further strengthen the
military's power and to discredit the government
Police in Ambon on Sunday arrested a schoolteacher accused of raising the RMS
flag.
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