Indonesia Bomb Blast in Christian Market Kills Eight, Wounds Dozens
A bomb exploded during the busy morning hours in a Christian market in Indonesia, killing at least eight people and leaving 48 wounded. In the religiously divided province of Central Sulawesi – where many parts of the province is equally split
A bomb exploded during the busy morning hours in a Christian market in Indonesia, killing at least eight people and leaving 48 wounded.
In the religiously divided province of Central Sulawesi – where many parts of the province is equally split between Muslims and Christians – the deadly blast tore through a stall selling pork.
"The explosion was so loud, I couldn't hear for a couple of seconds," a witness said according to the Associated Press news agency. “I ran out of my house and saw bodies lying around.”
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Mostly Christian shoppers filled the stall to buy pork, which is forbidden by Muslims, for New Year’s Eve celebration later that day, police officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
According to a police spokesman the bomb was packed with nails and ball bearings leaving most of the victims with leg injuries from the shrapnel from the bomb.
Another explosive device was reportedly discovered and defused near the site of the explosion.
Indonesia had been on high alert for potential Islamic extremist attacks on Christians from Christmas to New Year's day, heightening its police force around high risk areas such as churches, Christian organizations, and Muslim-Christian conflict areas.
There are some 18,000 security forces on guard over the holiday period, with about 1,000 troops and police in the island of Central Sulawesi. The security force in Central Sulawesi was sent last month after increase violence occurred in the province including shootings, bombings and beheadings.
In late October, three Christian schoolgirls were beheaded in the town of Poso and in early December Islamic militant torched a church in North Sulawesi Province.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-populated nation, has a history of inter-religious violence in Central Sulawesi, where almost 1,000 people died in the years 2000 and 2001, as noted by the BBC.
Earlier this year, twenty people were killed in May when two bombs exploded in the mainly Christian town of Tentena.
The Indonesian President’s spokesman, Andi Malarangeng, said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the attack and ordered an immediate investigation.
