May 19, 2012
Makassar. Fifteen people have been named suspects for setting a dormitory ablaze at Muhammadiyah University in Makassar in the early hours of Friday.
The incident stemmed from a clash between students from the Bulukumba and Palopo regions. The dormitory was inhabited by students from Bulukumba.
“At first there was an attack by a group of more than 10 unidentified people,” said Amir, who lives near the dorm.
“Later there was an explosion, probably from a Molotov cocktail. Soon after, the fire broke out.”
He said residents tried to put out the fire but failed. Fire trucks arrived an hour later, at 3 a.m., but by then the building had been burned to the ground.
He said no one was injured in the incident because the students had all left the dorm earlier. “It seems like they anticipated [the attack] because they left on Thursday afternoon,” Amir said.
Sr. Comr. Chevy Ahmad Sopary, a provincial police spokesman, said 41 students from both groups had been detained for questioning. Police also seized scores of weapons from the students, including firearms, daggers and arrows.
Sr. Comr. Erwin Triwanto, the Makassar Police chief, said 15 of the students had been named suspects in the case, with another 17 likely to follow.
The fire was the culmination of a long-running armed clash between the two groups that broke out last Saturday and continued sporadically until Friday. It remains unclear what sparked the clash, in which seven people were injured.
( from the JG)
zo 20 mei 2012 - 5:03