WASHINGTON (AFP): The United States has advised citizens to defer all travel to the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon in Maluku province where fresh violence was reported at the weekend.According to a travel notice update made available by the U.S. State Department on Monday, American citizens residing in Ambon have also been told to consider leaving the province, where 23 people died and 200 homes were torched in an outbreak of Christian-Muslim violence.
Recent press reports indicate that the violence has not yet subsided, the travel advisory said.
"The U.S. Department of State strongly advises all American citizens to defer all travel to Ambon until the situation improves," it said. "In addition, American citizens residing in Ambon may want to consider leaving the province.
The notice had updated a March 19 advisory that sectarian, ethnic, communal and separatist strife and violence would threaten personal safety and security in various areas, including Maluku, North Maluku, Sulawesi, Papua and West Timor."
Hundreds of Indonesian troops and police appeared to have regained control of Ambon on Monday after battles flared following a parade by Christian separatists.
The violence was the worst since a pact in February 2002 ended three years of sectarian fighting in which some 5,000 people died.
