Church set on fire in Indonesia

25 Oct, 2006

An armed group set fire to a Christian church in Indonesia's Poso region on Tuesday, a day after it clashed with a patrol party in the troubled region, a police officer said.
Poso in Central Sulawesi has been tense since the executions last month of three Christian militants over their role in the Muslim-Christian violence that gripped the region from 1998-2001. "A church was burned at around 0015," Poso police chief Rudy Sufariady told Reuters, adding that there were no casualties from the incident.
On Monday, a police patrol fought with a group armed with automatic weapons, home-made pipe bombs and stones. One person died in the clash and three were wounded, including a police officer. When asked if the perpetrators of the attack on the church were from the group that clashed with police on Monday, Sufriady said: "That's for certain, it's the same group".
Central Sulawesi police spokesman Muhammad Kila said police had not made any arrests and were still investigating the incident, which was close to the site of Monday's clash.

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