Thousands flee ethnic violence on Borneo

Thousands of people are fleeing a town in Borneo after ethnic clashes there left at least 20 people dead.

Thousands of people are fleeing a town in Borneo after ethnic clashes there left at least 20 people dead.

Hundreds of trucks and buses packed with refugees left riot-torn Sampit in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan, said police officer Sargeant Yahtera.

Sgt Yahtera said more people were on their way to the island's provincial capital.

Violence between local Dayak people and immigrant Madurese erupted on Sunday. Most of the victims were hacked to death.

There have been frequent clashes in the region, some 480 miles north east of Jakarta, between the two groups. Hundreds have been killed in recent years.

Meanwhile in Medan on the island of Sumatra, the trial opened of a pro-independence activist from Aceh province on subversion charges.

Neither defendant Muhammad Nazar nor his defence team were present in court. The proceedings were adjourned for an unspecified time.

Nazar was detained by the police after organising a pro-independence rally in Aceh's capital on November 11. He faces a maximum of 20 years in jail if found guilty.

Insurgents in the oil- and gas-rich province have been fighting for an independent homeland since the mid-1970s. At least 6,000 people have been killed in the past decade.

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