The Cross

 

Ambon Berdarah On-Line
News & Pictures About Ambon/Maluku Tragedy

 

 


 

 

 

One person dead in sectarian clash in restive Poso


The Jakarta Post, 8/12/2002 3:42:49 PM

One person dead in sectarian clash in restive Poso

JAKARTA (JP): At least one person died on Sunday evening in an armed clash between rival Moslem and Christian gangs in Malei Lage village near restive Poso, Central Sulawesi, some 1,600 kilometers northeast of Jakarta, DPA reported.

Brigadier General Zainal Abidin Ishak, chief of the province's police, confirmed the incident, adding that two people, including a policeman, had been kept hostage by local residents of Tongko village since Saturday, with their fate still being unclear.

Zainal Abidin ordered strong measures be taken against the troublemakers in a bid to stop the mounting violence which has claimed more victims in recent weeks, including an Italian tourist, Lorenzo Tadey, who was killed in an attack on a public bus last Thursday.

Church workers in Poso blamed Laskar Jihad, a Java-based Moslem hard-liner group, for the killing on Sunday evening, and for much of the recent violence.

"We are still searching for another person, who is missing," said Damanik from the Christian Church crisis center in Tentena, a district town nearby Poso.

The new wave of violence has forced about 2,100 residents from Matuto and Malitu villages to flee their homes.

On Sunday, a group of people attacked Rononuncu village, burning to the ground at least 17 houses, said Damanik.

He also blamed the death of Italian national Tadey on Laskar Jihad members. The militant group has sent an estimated 1,500 members to Central Sulawesi. But, Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare Jusuf Kalla over the weekend denied the involvement of the Muslim group in the incident.

The Central Sulawesi area of Poso has been a center for violent clashes between Moslems and Christians since early 1999. More than 2,000 people have died from sectarian clashes in Poso since the Moslem-Christian fighting broke out more than two years ago,while tens of thousands of others have been displaced.

A government-sponsored peace agreement was signed in December 2001 by the leaders of the two rival factions to end the bloodshed, but it has apparently failed to end the violence.

All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
 


Copyright © 1999-2001 - Ambon Berdarah On-Line * http://www.go.to/ambon
HTML page is designed by
Alifuru67 * http://www.oocities.org/unpatti67
Send your comments to
alifuru67@yahoogroups.com
This web site is maintained by the Real Ambonese - 1364283024 & 1367286044