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Ethnic Unrest Continues in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Ethnic violence continued in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, claiming another five lives during weekend, according to the Indonesian Observer Monday.
"The bodies of five men were found on the main road to Kotabesi on Saturday, some 30 minutes from Sampit," Kotawaringin Timur Police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Petrus Hardono said.
The five bodies, believed to have been killed just a few hours before their discovery, appeared to be those of five migrant settlers from Madura island off East Java province.
Hardono said that the five might have come out of the jungle in search of food and had been killed by indigenous Dayak tribesmen who encountered them.
Tension also rose in Pangkalan Bun, capital of West Kotawaringin regency in Central Kalimantan, where acts of alleged arson towards Madurese-owned houses were still taking place late on Saturday.
The incident alerted local residents, who patrolled the Pangkalan Bun town, about 500 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital of Palangkaraya, and blocked the streets leading to and from the city.
Shot were heard several times as troops and police arrived to localize the scene in an effort to restore order and prevent further violence.
No fatalities were reported in the blaze.
Violence between Dayaks and Madurese first erupted in Sampit, about 214 kilometers southwest of Palangkaraya, on February 18 and quickly spread to Palangkaraya and Kualakapuas.
More than 500 persons have been killed in the violence so far, mostly Madurese, and many of them were mutilated or decapitated.
More than 50,000 Madurese have fled or been evacuated from the province.
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