BBC World News, Sunday, 11 April, 2004, 04:20 GMT
Gunmen attack Indonesian church
By Tim Johnston, BBC, Jakarta
Seven people have been wounded in a shooting at an Easter church service on the
Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
Hundreds of people have died on the island in conflicts between Christians and
Muslims.
Police said two gunmen burst into the church on Saturday night and sprayed the
congregation with automatic weapons fire before escaping.
Hospital staff said on Sunday none of the injured, who included a four-year-old girl,
were in imminent danger.
The shootings happened just outside the town of Poso in central Sulawesi, an area
that has acquired an unenviable reputation for inter-religious violence.
Different strategy
Hundreds of people have died around Poso, and despite a peace accord signed
between leaders of the Muslim and Christian communities in 2001, the region remains
a powder keg.
Analysts say that much of the unrest is being stirred up by members of the same
group that attacked foreign tourists on the island of Bali a year and a half ago and is
unlikely to end any time soon.
A recent report by the International Crisis Group said some members of the group,
known as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), were pursuing a different strategy from the Bali
bombers.
It said that this branch of JI believed attacking foreigners was counter-productive and it
instead decided to work towards establishing an Islamic state in Indonesia, starting in
Poso.
But the report also warns that some militants are likely to become frustrated with the
slow progress and return to a more confrontational path.
Saturday's attack may indicate that trend is accelerating.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/3617401.stm
Published: 2004/04/11 04:20:09 GMT
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