ID :
336876
Fri, 08/01/2014 - 10:48
Auther :

Five Killed In Ambon's Violent Clashes

Ambon, Maluku, Aug 1 (Antara) - At least five persons were reportedly killed in a fighting between the Seith and Negeri Lima villages in Ambon, Maluku province, noted local police spokesman Senior Commissioner Bintang Juliana. Bintang stated that the violent clashes which erupted on Thursday afternoon were triggered by the fatal stabbing of a Seith villager, Benjamin Maju, at Nahai hamlet in Negeri Lima village. Benjamin was rushed to the Dr Haulussy Hospital in Ambon city but nothing much could be done about the serious wounds he sustained from the stabbing incident, and he died at the hospital. Benjamin`s death incited the emotions of the Seith village residents, who then launched a revenge attack on the Nahai hamlet in Negeri Lima village, which resulted in the deaths of Usman Moni of Seith village and Duba Selli, Kaimudin Soulisa, and Wahid Suneth of Negeri Lima village. According to Bintang, five others were also wounded, and 17 houses were set ablaze in the fighting that broke out between the residents of the two neighboring villages. In January 1999, serious sectarian fighting erupted in the island of Ambon, and although there were occasional lulls over the next two years, five to eight thousand people were killed and 500 thousand people were displaced from their homes. The conflict at the time divided the people along religious lines, though the origin of the fighting involved ethnic, economic, and political rivalries. During the initial 15 months of the crisis, the fighting between the two groups, largely cyclical reprisals, resulted in more or less equal number of people being killed on each side. The apparent spark that led to the outbreak of fighting in 1999 was reported to have been an argument in Ambon city between a public transport driver and at least one passenger of different religious background. The argument soon spiraled into a brawl and then escalated into several days of mob violence, which then spread to the other islands, thus beginning the cyclical pattern.

X