Muslims drive Christians from Indonesian villages

Associated Press

SANGGINRA, Indonesia — 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.

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.

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.