Analysts: Indonesia risks new bloodshed in Maluku islands

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesia could face new bloodshed between Christians and Muslims in the Maluku islands ahead of July's national presidential elections, an international think tank warned Tuesday.

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group said authorities must arrest unidentified snipers who fatally shot most of the 40 people killed and wounded about 200 in riots there last month.

Two-thirds of the victims were Muslims.

The killings have raised fears of a return to communal mayhem that hit the area three years ago, when up to 9,000 people died and hundreds of thousands were displaced.

ICG Asia program director Robert Templer said the longer April's murders remain unresolved, "the greater the chance of a new round of violence in a sensitive place and at a sensitive time for Indonesia's democracy.''

The ICG doubted an Indonesian police finding that radical Muslims groups were behind the shootings - arguing that the extremists do not have the capability and that they would not target their own people.

Unidentified marksmen have featured prominently in many violent incidents in recent Indonesian history.

None have ever been arrested, prompting many to speculate that only army snipers could have committed the crimes and remained free with the backing of the powerful military elite.

Maluku, also known as the Moluccan or Spice Islands, is one of several flashpoints in Indonesia, the world's most populace Muslim nation. - AP

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