NEWS.com [Australia], March 22, 2005
Three wounded in sectarian violence
From correspondents in Ambon
-Agence France-Presse-
AT LEAST three people were seriously injured in a blast in the sectarian violence-hit
eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, eyewitnesses said today.
The explosion at 10.30pm (12.30am AEDT) was believed to have originated from a car
driving through Batumerah, a predominately Islamic area of the city, the scene of
sporadic violence between Muslim and Christian communities.
All three victims were believed to be Muslims and were taken for treatment at the
nearby Al-Fatah and Al-Mukadeh Muslim hospitals.
One local journalist, quoting police sources, said that as many as 11 people may
have been wounded in the explosion, with three seriously hurt.
The vehicle believed to have been involved in the blast was being examined by
members of Indonesia's Brimob paramilitary police deployed to the area.
Ambon and some other parts of the Maluku islands were ravaged by three years of
Muslim-Christian clashes that killed more than 5000 people before a February 2002
peace pact took effect.
But sporadic violence has continued and tension between the two communities has
remained high in Ambon and several of its surrounding small islands.
Copyright 2005 News Limited.
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