Muslim paramilitaries attack Christian villagers
Thousands of Christian villagers on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island are reportedly fleeing attacks by Muslim paramilitaries armed with machine guns and rocket launchers.
Reports say that hundreds of homes and settlements around Poso, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, have been destroyed by uniformed members of the Laskar Jihad militia.
Fighting between Muslims and Christians in the province has claimed at least 1,000 lives since it first broke out two years ago.
The province had calmed at the start of this year, but the conflict flared again in September when around 200 militiamen from Laskar Jihad arrived in the area. Dozens of people have been killed in recent weeks.
Laskar Jihad, which is based on Java Island, gained notoriety in the eastern Maluku province, where it was accused of stoking sectarian clashes that have claimed around 9,000 lives since 1999.
