The Jakarta Post, 11/8/2004 12:59:16 PM
New death in restive Poso
JAKARTA (AFP): The driver of a public minibus was Monday shot dead by a sniper in
the Indonesian town of Poso in Central Sulawesi where sporadic Muslim-Christian
violence has continued for the past four years, police said.
"He was hit in the head and died on the spot," said Poso district police chief Abdi
Darma Sitepu.
The driver was killed while driving through downtown Poso at around 10:00 am, Sitepu
said, adding the assailant remained unknown.
Five passengers on the minibus were unhurt in the incident, which occurred as the
vehicle was moving at a slow speed, Sitepu said.
He declined to say whether the driver was Christian or Muslim.
Members of both religious communities have been engaged in violence against each
other since 2000.
More than 1,000 people have since been killed. The government has sponsored peace
talks in December 2002 but tension remains and occasional violence blights the area.
In the latest incident of violence, a Christian village chief was beheaded in Poso on
November 4. The perpetrators have not yet been apprehended. (*)
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