Security tight for Eid celebrations

Troops at Jakarta's central National Monument Square

Celebrations in Indonesia to mark the end of Islam's fasting month on Wednesday have taken place amid tight security because of fears of religious violence.

The motive is pretty clear. The motive is political

President Wahid on the church attacks

There were fears that Christians might seek revenge for a spate of deadly church bombings over Christmas Eve which left 15 people dead.

Security forces were on high alert in Jakarta and other cities, with thousands of police and soldiers standing guard at mosques and churches.

Security forces search the bags of women worshippers

At Jakarta's main Istiqlal mosque, thousands of worshippers had their bags searched and passed metal detectors.

However no violence was reported in the world's most populous Islamic nation on Wednesday - the first day of the two-day holiday Eid al-Fitr, one of the most important days of the Islamic calendar.

Muslims make up about 90% of Indonesia's 210 million people.

Cookie tin bombs

President Abdurrahman Wahid has said the attacks on churches in eight cities - one of the most co-ordinated terrorist attacks in the country - were aimed at sparking religious violence to destabilise his government.

Women worshippers in Jakarta

"This is clearly a barbaric and inhumane action which has made victims of innocent people," he said after visiting those wounded in the attacks.

The bombs - wrapped as Christmas gifts or in cookie tins - were timed to detonate as churches held midnight mass.

"The motive is pretty clear. The motive is political," he said at the Saint Carolus Catholic hospital, where he was cheered and clapped at by patients and staff.

Military blamed

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombings at 18 churches and the homes of priests, which one newspaper has dubbed as "Sunday bloody Sunday".

Some reports pinpointed the military, which has been blamed for stirring up sectarian violence in the country in the last two years, particularly in Moluccas.

President Wahid prays at Jakarta's main Istiqual mosque

Analysts in the Jakarta Post cited "old political forces" from the rule of former President Suharto as responsible.

"Elements of the old political forces are the ones who have the most at stake in undermining the political transition towards democracy," Hendardi, of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association, said.

"And they are also the ones who have the foremost means to carry out such a despicable act," he added.

The chairman of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals said the attack was not merely aimed at Christians but against the whole Indonesian nation.

"It's all done to prevent a stable and peaceful Indonesia," he said, linking the bombings with the recent violence elsewhere, such as in Ambon, Poso and Medan.

Religious leaders have agreed to form a joint crisis centre to help deal with religious tensions, reports said.