Borneo refugees flee killings

Migrants are fleeing a wave of violence

Thousands of terrified people have begun their escape on Indonesian naval vessels from ethnic violence in the province of Central Kalimantan on Borneo.

The first ship left the river port of Sampit carrying more than 2,000 people.

Some 24,000 refugees have flocked to the town, after a week of savage attacks which local officials now say have left 210 dead.

The survivors are said to be in a desperate condition, with many having gone without food for days.

A Madurese mother and child look for a place on an evacuation transport

The refugees - mostly immigrants from Madura island - have been repeatedly attacked by the native Dayak people in the province of Central Kalimantan.

They are sheltering in makeshift camps, guarded by heavily-armed troops and riot police, ready to be evacuated to islands of Madura and Java, about 1,000km (650 miles) away.

Officials estimate as many as 7,000 may leave by boat by the end of Saturday.

Other refugees are fleeing overland to other parts of the province.

The authorities say more than 1,000 extra police and troops are being sent into the region to restore law and order.

But a BBC correspondent in Kalimantan says the security forces have been unwilling to intervene and the violence is spreading to other towns where there are many Madurese migrants.

Bloody history

The Dayaks say they will not stop until they have forced the entire migrant population out of the Kalimantan area - in total at least 60,0000.

Dayaks cheer as they pass burning Madurese houses

Dayak gangs armed with machetes and daggers have been patrolling Sampit, setting fire to Madurese houses and parading the severed heads of their victims.

"The situation is getting worse," said regional police chief Brigadier General Bambang Pranoto.

This week's killings on Borneo, which is shared between Indonesia and Malaysia, began on Sunday.

Rising ethnic tension

The bloody outbreak of violence - the worst in the region since 1997 - is the latest of a series on the island, which are mostly sparked by disputes over land and jobs.

Desperate Madurese crowded onto trucks to be taken to the port

The Dayaks feel marginalised by rapid development in the region and view the migrant Madurese as aggressive settlers. The Madurese were relocated as part of a government development programme aimed at reducing overcrowding in other parts of Indonesia.

In recent years, following the end of former President Suharto's autocratic rule, long-suppressed ethnic tensions have erupted in many provinces of Indonesia across the archipelago's 13,000 islands.

The World Bank warned on Friday that "regional unrest and political and ethnic tensions threaten national unity" in Indonesia.