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.
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