It is now exactly a year since religious conflict erupted in eastern Indonesia, in the Moluccan or Spice Islands. And over the past three weeks the fighting between the Christian and Muslim communities has reached a new intensity.

Clashes which erupted in the provincial capital, Ambon, the day after Christmas, have spread rapidly to many other islands in the region, leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless in some of the most savage sectarian violence in Indonesia's history.

With many of their churches destroyed in the fighting of the past 12 months, Christians hold impromptu outdoor services in the centre of Ambon City. But despite the serenity of their singing, anger and hatred are never far from the surface.

One woman, whose house was destroyed by a Muslim crowd just after Christmas, said Christians and Muslims could no longer live together in the Moluccan islands.

It is indeed hard to imagine reconciliation between the two communities after the ferocity of the latest fighting.

Christians and Muslims now fight pitched battles with whatever weapons they can get hold of.

Ambon City is totally segregated and, as one Christian man explained, there is no mercy for those caught trespassing.

"People are being killed, you know, if they come to the wrong area in Ambon. So if the Christians come to the Muslims' area and they get discovered, then perhaps they get kidnapped and killed. Because that's what happens here, you know."

A Christian gunman said the best solution would be for the security forces to withdraw to let the final and decisive battle with the Muslims begin.

It is immediately possible to see the conflict's impact on the Muslim quarter as well. A building that used to be used by the tourism department is now full of refugees - more than 170 families, all of them victims of the recent violence.

One Muslim woman, Saleyha, said she had been in the camp with her family for three months since her house was burnt down by the Christians.

And while the number of refugee camps increases, so too does the size of the graveyards. One in the Muslim zone contained dozens of freshly dug graves, many of them for children.

As on the Christian side, the violence of the past year is breeding Muslim extremists. As one Muslim man explained, the fight against the Christians has now become a jihad or holy war:

"The holy war is an obligation for us Muslims against people who attack us. Before we used to just keep quiet. But now the Christians keep attacking us. We have to fight back, otherwise they will kill us."

Immigration fears

Even young boys are being sucked into this jihad. Ten-year-old Ekki from Bahasa said he was involved in killing his first Christian last summer.

No-one can really fully explain what ignited this conflict a year ago between the two communities, who had previously lived in relative harmony.

But perhaps the most important factor is the fear felt by the Christians - who have traditionally dominated the Moluccan islands - that they are being swamped by Muslim migrants who are taking their jobs and power.

What is also clear is that the local religious leaders will never be able to resolve this conflict themselves. They are simply in a state of denial.

Indeed, Yusuf Eli, the head of the Muslim community in the region, claimed that Muslims had never gone on the offensive in the conflict:

Meanwhile, Christian leaders such as Sammy Titaley, blame all the violence on the Muslims.

"We have never known why the Muslim people attack us. What we hear is that they accuse us of separatism - but we don't know about that."

Weapon searches

With local leaders failing to stop the violence, responsibility is now being given to the armed forces to restore law and order. Large numbers of troops in Ambon are now conducting daily searches for illegal weapons.

Captain Johnny Jamaris says his platoon has already confiscated 50 home-made rifles and 50 pistols. In Ambon the strategy is working, the violence has subsided.

But, although thousands of extra troops have been sent to the region, there are still not enough to stop the fighting in the many different islands to which the conflict has now spread.

The government in Jakarta also knows that sending in the armed forces cannot be a long-term solution. However, at present there seem to be few other options available.