Mob of 2,000 Attacks, Torches Indonesian Police Stations After Jailhouse Death

JAKARTA, Indonesia —  Thousands went on a rampage in an Indonesian town, attacking police stations, setting buildings ablaze and clashing with security forces after the death of a detainee in police custody, police and witnesses said today.

Witnesses said about 2,000 people attacked and torched two police stations Monday in the town of Liwa, roughly 150 miles northwest of Jakarta on the island of Sumatra, after reports that a man accused of theft had died in police custody. Three houses also were set ablaze.

Police said they had fired warning shots to disperse the angry mob that was trying to set another police station on fire. They said at least seven people were injured during the clashes.

“The situation was taken under control by midafternoon, and crowds started to disperse following the warning shots,” county police chief Lt. Col. Tri Panaryo said.

He said the detained man had committed suicide. But angry locals said the man had been deliberately poisoned.

Panaryo said the situation in Liwa was back to normal today with businesses and shops open as usual. Police were patrolling the town, he said.

Violence also was reported Monday in North Sumatra and the eastern island of Sulawesi.

Police opened fire on hundreds of farmers who had occupied a state plantation near the north Sumatran city of Medan.

The Jakarta Post reported that five people were injured by rubber bullets during the clash. The farmers claimed the land had been taken from them without compensation and refused to vacate it.

In the town of Poso on Sulawesi, police clashed with thousands who had ransacked and torched dozens of buildings during a brawl between rival villages.

The Jakarta Post said 22 people were injured during the clashes but most were released the same day from Poso General Hospital.

Thousands of people ran amok in the town last week after allegations a drunken Christian had stabbed a Muslim on Christmas Eve. But police said Monday’s violence was not sparked by religious conflict and no churches or mosques had been damaged.

Indonesia has been hit by several outbreaks of unrest in recent months as a crippling economic crisis pushes millions into increasing poverty.