ASSOCIATED PRESS, Friday December 7, 2001 8:19 AM ET
Indonesian Christians Flee Muslims
By DESSIANING SRI ARYANTI, Associated Press Writer
SANGGINRA, Indonesia (AP) - Thousands of Christians were hiding in jungle-clad
mountains on Indonesia's Sulawesi island Friday after their villages were attacked and
razed by Muslim militias.
Hundreds of homes were destroyed last month in the latest round of sectarian
violence in the region - which has left about 1,000 people dead on both sides in the
past two years.
In November, Muslim militants drove away security forces in the area then attacked at
least three Christian villages in central Sulawesi, local residents said.
There were conflicting reports about the number of deaths in those attacks. Police
could confirm only eight dead, but villagers said more were missing.
In one village, Sangginra, the burned-out ruins of hundreds of houses and a church are
all that is left of the once-bustling market community. A few haggard-looking villagers
returned to Sangginra Friday and searched through the remains of their homes.
``Many people cannot find their wives, husbands or children,'' said local priest Marson
Movanti. ``We fled to the mountains and jungle when we heard bombs exploding and
rifle fire.''
He said some of the attackers were members of a Muslim militia, Laskar Jihad, which
is responsible for much of the religious fighting in the nearby Maluku islands. About
9,000 people have been killed in that conflict in the past three years.
Laskar Jihad leaders in the nearby town of Poso refused to comment on the
allegations.
Movanti said many of the attackers were armed with automatic rifles.
Despite government assurances that the worst of the bloodshed was over,
international aid agencies have evacuated their staff from the area and human rights
activists say it is unlikely that the fighting will end.
On Thursday, security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono toured the region, about
1,000 miles northeast of Jakarta, and assured residents that the situation was under
control. About 2,000 police and soldiers have been dispatched to the area.
Although Muslim gangs appear to be responsible for the latest outbreak of fighting,
Christian militias have also killed hundreds of Muslims and forced thousands of others
to flee their homes. In the bloodiest attack so far, about 100 Muslim villagers were
massacred in May last year.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri has not publicly commented on the violence but is
considering imposing a state of emergency in the region.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. Nearly 85 percent of its 203
million people are Muslim. The rest are Christian, Hindu or Buddhist.
Meanwhile, in Aceh, another restive Indonesian province, at least five people including
two rebels were killed Friday in a gunbattle with government troops, said Lt. Firdaus
Komarno, a local military spokesman.
Rebels in the region have been fighting for independence of their gas- and oil-rich
province since 1975. More than 6,000 people have been killed, including about 1,300
this years alone.
Copyright © 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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