ABC AUSTRALIA, 24/05/2004 18:32:50
Tensions high in Indonesia's Ambon city after bomb blasts
Tensions are high in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, with residents setting up
roadblocks in several parts of the city after bombs wounded five people.
Barricades, made of tyres, rocks, bamboo, wood and hawker wagons, blocked several
main streets in both the Christian and Muslim sectors, but armed police and troops
have now cleared most of them away.
The move follows two explosions in Ambon on Sunday in what a police officer
described as efforts to provoke the population.
Five people were wounded.
The city is still recovering from an outbreak of Muslim-Christian violence which began
late last month, after a banned parade by members of a mainly Christian separatist
group.
Nearly 40 people have been killed in the latest violence.
Ambon was ravaged by three years of Muslim-Christian clashes, which killed more
than 5,000 people, before a February 2002 peace pact went into force.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri visited the city on Saturday and promised to deal
firmly with separatist supporters.
24/05/2004 18:32:50 | ABC Radio Australia News
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