10 Dead in Indonesia Christian- Muslim Clash

AMBON, Indonesia- Yesterday marked the bloodiest day in Indonesia’s Maluku islands. Muslim and Christian gangs fought running battles, leaving at least 10 people dead. The slaughter is taken place in the provincial capital Ambon. It is estimated that at least 50 people were wounded in the clashes.

According to the witnesses, gangs of Muslim and Christian youths hurled rocks at each other in the center of the city. Throughout the whole afternoon, gunfire and small explosion were heard.

In the midst of the battle, the police and army were trying to disperse the rioters by firing. There were also reports of unidentified gunmen firing from tall buildings in the city. The victims' bodies were left lying in the street. Their religious affiliation was not known.

In the report for physical destruction, at least three buildings were set ablaze, including a church and an office housing U.N. agencies working in the region. There were no reports of U.N. staffers being hurt.

The clash on Sunday follows a series of Christian separatist movement paraded through Ambon to mark the anniversary of a failed independence bid 54 years ago these days. The Christians’ effort for independence is believed to provoke the fury of Muslims in the province. The police had vowed to stop such campaign.

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, but South Maluku's two million people are evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. The two groups signed a government sponsored peace pact in 2002, but violence between them has continued and they now live in separate communities.

More than 9,000 people were killed in the Malukus in a decade of fighting between Muslims and Christians that attracted Islamic militants from all over Southeast Asia.

The Sunday clash is described as some of the bloodiest since the truce. Some witnesses said two of the youths hacked to death with swards.

Ambon police spokesman Lt. Col. Hendro Prasetyo said that calm had returned by nightfall and that authorities were meeting to discuss whether to impose a curfew on the city. He attributed the tragedy to the irresponsibility of the two religious groups.