Posted on 12/31/2004 11:37:30 PM PST by miltonim
JAKARTA, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Two Christians were stabbed Friday in an area of eastern Indonesia that has been the site of sporadic Muslim-Christian violence for four years.
The Christmas Eve incident came amid tightened security measures across Indonesia. More than 140,000 police officers, backed by thousands of troops, have been deployed to safeguard Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Police said the two Christians were in critical condition. Security authorities were pursuing the assailants, who fled into the jungle surrounding the town of Poso, 1,200 miles northeast of Jakarta.
Poso and the nearby region in Central Sulawesi province were at the center of violent clashes between Muslim and Christian communities in 2000 and 2001 that claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people.
About two weeks ago, unidentified persons attacked two churches in Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, injuring three.
Last week several nations, including the United States, Australia and Great Britain, issued warnings of possible terror attacks by Muslim militant groups in Indonesia, and urged their nationals to stay away from certain hotels and public places.
I know they probably don't want to make the Muslims mad, cuz they got to live there too, but they should have told the media that the attack occured because the attacker blamed God for the tsunami and knew his own God wasn't real...
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