Military vows to hunt down ringleaders of riots

AMBON, Indonesia, Jan 26: Indonesia's military commander has vowed to hunt down the ringleaders of religious rioting that left at least 54 people dead as rescuers searched Tuesday for more victims, reports AP.

Residents of riot-torn Ambon island said they heard shots late Monday and stayed indoors, obeying a curfew ordered by authorities. Many shops were closed and public buses stayed off the debris-strewn streets.

Police and soldiers have frequently fired warning shots to disperse mobs of Muslim and Christian rioters in the past week, but the worst of the violence appears to have abated.

The unrest has left many areas on Ambon in ruins, and Baileo, a non-governmental organisation, has said the number of people killed could be move than double the official death toll.

The rioting was the latest in a series of violent outbreaks that have wracked economically struggling Indonesia for more than a year.

Armed forces chief Gen. Wiranto said he would pursue perpetrators or unrest in the Southeast Asian nation of 210 million people.

Many Indonesians resent the armed forces because of its image as a human rights violator under former President Suharto, who was forced from power in May by riots and protests after 32 years of authoritarian rule.

Of immediate concern for many Ambonese were food shortages and rising prices. Witnesses said small groups looted some stores Monday while other residents lined up for food from the few shops that opened their doors.

The military earlier threatened to shoot on sight rioters who refused to surrender they weapons.

Fighting between the two religious groups has flared on Ambon and two other islands in eastern Indonesia since last Tuesday.

The unrest in Maluku was the worst in Indonesia since the violence that helped oust Suharto.

Most of the dead were Muslim. About 90 per cent of Indonesia's people are Muslim, making it the world's most populous Islamic country.