22 Killed in Indonesia in Attack on Christian Village; Thousands Flee

JAKARTA, Indonesia —  At least 22 people were killed when heavily armed men attacked and razed a mainly Christian village in Indonesia’s ravaged Molucca Islands, forcing thousands to flee into the nearby jungle, media reported today.

The Antara news agency said fighters armed with mortars, grenades and rifles raided a village Thursday near Ambon, the provincial capital, in response to an earlier shooting of three Muslims that left one dead.

Antara said nearly 60 people were wounded and hundreds of buildings were burned in the latest violence to hit the Moluccas, where clashes between Christians and Muslims have killed thousands since early 1999.

Newspapers in mainly Muslim Indonesia routinely do not identify the warring sides, and neither officials nor police were immediately available to comment. Until today, there had been only sketchy reports about the attack.

About 40 people have been killed in clashes between Christians and Muslims in and around Ambon this week despite the imposition of a civil emergency in the region late last month, a move the embattled government of President Abdurrahman Wahid had hoped might reduce the bloodshed.

Rumors of violence in other areas around Ambon prompted thousands of mainly women and children to flee separate villages, the Jakarta Post daily reported.