BBC World News, Sunday, 8 September, 2002, 06:51 GMT 07:51 UK
Religious violence erupts in Moluccas
A man was burnt to death when a mob torched his van
Rioting has broken out in Indonesia's Moluccas islands following the reported killing of
three women in the religiously-divided region. Mobs took to the streets in a
predominantly-Muslim quarter of the regional capital, Ambon, and torched a van
carrying Christians - one person was burnt to death, police said.
The rioting was apparently triggered by news that three Muslim women had been shot
dead on a beach on the island of Sapura. The Moluccas, some 2,300 kilometres
(1,400 miles) east of Jakarta, have been plagued by clashes between Muslims and
Christians for the past three years.
Continuing violence
Outbreaks of violence in the region have continued, despite a peace accord signed by
both communities in February. On Thursday, three teenage girls were killed when a
home-made bomb went off at a sports centre in Ambon. A 20-year-old woman later
died of her injuries. Indonesia's Vice-President, Hamzah Haz, blamed the bombing on
provocateurs who, he said, wanted to destabilise the fragile archipelago. He denied
the attack was motivated by religious rivalry. More than 5,000 people have been killed
in the Moluccas since religiuos violence erupted in January 1999, sparked by a minor
traffic accident in Ambon.
© BBC
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