Nine slaughtered on Indonesian island

Nine people have been killed in clashes between two communities on the eastern Indonesian island of Lombok.

Reports spoke of villagers wielding machetes and home-made firearms, as a dispute over radio equipment flared into violence.

The security forces say the situation is now under control. More than 200 riot police and troops have been sent to prevent further violence on the island, which is popular with tourists.

Police spokeswoman Tri Budi Pangastuti said eight people died on Thursday, and one the previous evening.

The violence began when residents of a village called Bongor ambushed a group of four people travelling from the village of Parampuan nearby, the spokeswoman said.

Villagers from Parampuan then armed themselves and retaliated.

History of conflict

Fighting between the two villages first broke out last month, sparked by a dispute over the ownership of radio equipment. The latest clashes are believed to relate to the same dispute.

Sectarian and inter-communal violence have swept through the Indonesian archipelago since the fall of President Suharto in 1998.

Lombok, close to the island of Java, is one of Indonesia's top tourist destinations.

The tourist industry - a major foreign exchange earner for Indonesia - has only just begun to recover from violence a year ago, when members of the Christian minority were forced to flee from attacks by members of the Muslim majority.