Troops sent to stop Borneo slaughter

Dayak gangs have been acting with impunity

The Indonesian Government has pledged to halt ethnic violence on the island of Borneo within three days, as migrants continue to flee murderous local gangs.

At least 270 ethnic Madurese have been killed by groups of indigenous Dayak fighters since violence broke out eight days ago.

Indonesian soldiers have been flying into Palangkaraya

Men, women and children have been butchered with machetes, spears and axes - some bodies have been decapitated and had the hearts cut out.

The BBC Jakarta correspondent, who is in the regional capital Palangkaraya, said he saw troops and police sit watching as one settler's house was set alight.

Chief Security Minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is in Borneo, said the government was shocked by "the humanitarian tragedy" and was sending hundreds of extra troops into the area.

But he warned that that the killings of migrants could continue in some outlying districts which were difficult for the security forces to reach.

Most settlers have already left the capital but our correspondent says those who remain are clearly in extreme danger.

Shipped out

Many of those who fled Palangkaraya and other settler communities are trying to escape through the river port of Sampit.

An Indonesian soldier displays a weapon used by Dayaks

Some 10,000 refugees have been shipped out on navy vessels and passenger ferries.

That leaves about 15,000 in crowded transit camps, under military protection.

The government has been flying in food and medical supplies, but the situation remains desperate with many survivors having gone without food for days.

The authorities now admit that their main priority is to evacuate the Madurese population as quickly as possible.

To the north, Malaysia is stepping up patrols along its land border with Indonesia, amid fears of an influx of refugees.

The Dayaks say they will not stop until they have forced the entire migrant population out of the Kalimantan area - in total at least 60,000.

Dayak gangs armed with machetes and daggers are sparing no one, correspondents say.

They have been parading the severed heads of their victims through the streets of Sampit.

The killings on Borneo, which is shared between Indonesia and Malaysia, began a week ago.

Land and jobs

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.

At least 10,000 migrants have already left Kalimantan

The Dayaks - traditionally farmers and hunters - 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.

Although they are mainly poor, what little economic success the Madurese enjoy is obvious, because they often work as market stallholders.

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.