Poso back to normal after bomb
blast
National News - July 14, 2002
Erick W., The Jakarta Post,
Palu
The situation in Poso regency,
Central Sulawesi, returned to normal on Saturday, one day after a
bomb explosion that killed a woman in a bus, but police kept
closed the road where the blast had occurred.
The crowd, which had begun to
gather at the bomb site on Friday night, had dispersed, Poso
Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Unggung Cahyono said by telephone on
Saturday.
He said locals in Poso had returned
to their normal activities.
The bomb killed 18-year-old Eta and
wounded severely four others, including the bus conductor who
triggered the explosion when he opened the bag inside which the
bomb was concealed.
All victims were passengers on a
bus heading to Poso town along the trans-Sulawesi highway. The bus
driver found the bomb inside a bag lying on the road and asked his
conductor to pick it up.
A second bomb reportedly exploded
after someone threw it against the side of the bus and it
apparently killed Eta.
The incident occurred close to a
security post. Locals, who tried to pursue the bomber, were
angered when security personnel refused to join the chase. As more
people gathered at the scene, police closed the road, Antara
reported.
The incident was the second bus
bombing since the Malino peace agreement, which was signed last
December. The first occurred on June 5, 2002, on the highway,
claiming five lives.
The region has been the location of
fighting between Muslims and Christians, although clashes abated
after the two warring groups signed the government-sponsored peace
accord. Sporadic violence, however, continues. Eleven have died,
including those from a bomb explosion in June.
"We call on locals to remain
calm and not be provoked (into committing any form of
aggression)," said Sulaiman Manar, who chairs the working
group of the Malino peace agreement.
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