The Jakarta Post, January 13, 2002
Attacker killed in Ambon assault
AMBON, Maluku (JP): Fresh violence erupted in Ambon, the site of an ongoing
sectarian conflict, on Sunday when a group of gunmen attacked Rutong Village in the
Ambon mayoralty, leaving one attacker dead and four injured.
The dead man and two other attackers have yet to beidentified and his body remained
in a forest area near the village. Two residents who were identified as Mrs. Len
Maitimu and Ferdinand Maspaitelo are still undergoing an intensive medication at the
Dr. Houlussy General Hospital in the city for their serious injuries.
Ferdinand Lessy, deputy chief of Rutong village, said the violence occurred when a
group of unidentified gunmen threw a bomb at a house belonging to Ois de Fretes,
which then exploded in the house's yard.
"All residents came out of their houses and mounted a defense with the help of
dozens of security personnel from a Police Mobile Brigade regiment stationed in the
nearby Hutumury and Leahari villages," Antara quoted him as saying here onSunday.
The man was shot as villagers and security personnel drove the group out of the
village.
Lessy said the attackers were equipped with AK-47 and SS-1 weapons and
handmade bombs.
Security personnel also found masks, ammunition, several pairs of footwear and
documents abandoned by the attackers in the forest area. These were taken as
material evidence to the local police subprecinct as part of the police's investigations.
The assault, which did not cause any casualties among the village's residents, forced
local Christians to cancel their Sunday prayers while children and the elderly were
evacuated to neighboring villages.
"The local administration and security authorities should station security personnel to
prevent such assaults in the future and take firm measures against attackers who are
trying to disturb the gradually improving situation in the mayoralty," he said.
According to him, the predominantly Christian village has regularly come under attack
since violence in Maluku first erupted on Jan. 19, 1999, claiming dozens of lives.
The incident was part of a series of attacks launched by various groups in a bid to
disrupt the gradual return tostability in the city, he said.
Despite the state of civilian emergency imposed in July 2000, a series of violent
incidents has claimed hundreds of lives. Last month at least 60 people were killed in a
series of bombings and shootings in the city. The major incidents were the explosion
ofa bomb onboard a ferry, the Kalifornia, that claimed more than 40 lives and an
armed attack on a speedboat that left seven passengers dead.
More than 9,000 people have been killed and thousands of homes, mosques and
churches have been burned down over the last three years.
Comr. Rudolf Roja, deputy chief of the Mobile Brigade command at the Maluku
Provincial Police, said a number of security personnel had been deployed to hunt for
the attackers and had found land mines planted by the gunmen in several locations in
anattempt to disrupt the security forces' manhunt.
Many villages in the subdistrict were quiet after the attack, as most residents chose
to stay at home.(49)
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