The Jakarta Post, 5/1/2004 6:42:05 PM
Sporadic gunfire as sectarian violence subsides in Ambon
AMBON, Maluku (AFP): Violence between Muslims and Christians that has left at
least 37 dead in the east Indonesia's Ambon city has subsided but sporadic gunfire
and explosions were heard overnight, residents said on Saturday.
"This morning the city is calm but last night I heard sporadic shots and explosions," a
resident said, as others said fighting had been confined to one section of the city
separating Muslim and Christian communities.
"Clashes are only taking place in one area but I wonder why security forces have not
been unable to stop them. What will happen if the violence spreads to other areas?"
Maluku Bishop Mgr. Petrus Mandagi told AFP.
There were no immediate reports of fresh casualties.
A banned parade by Christian separatists celebrating the 54th anniversary of the
South Maluku Republic (RMS) sparked off the bloodshed on April 25 in Ambon, the
Maluku provincial capital.
The violence was the worst since a February 2002 pact ended three years of religious
battles in which some 5,000 people died.
About 180 people have been injured. Hundreds of homes and many other buildings
including the United Nations mission were set ablaze.
More than 2,000 Muslims and Christians have fled their homes, according to one
crisis center. Those who stayed behind remained confined to their respective sectors
of the divided city behind makeshift street barricades.
Thousands of radical fighters, including some from the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah
Islamiyah group, joined the Muslim side in the previous conflict.
Officials have portrayed the clashes as between independence supporters and
opponents, rather than Christian-Muslim battles.
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