Troops open fire in Ambon

Security forces opened fire on crowds

By Richard Galpin in Jakarta

Fighting has broken out between Christians and Muslims on the Moluccan Islands in eastern Indonesia.

The security forces have opened fire on crowds in the provincial capital Ambon, injuring at least 15 people.

Eyewitnesses have described the situation in Ambon as warlike, with heavy gunfire and explosions in the city, which has also been plunged into darkness by a power cut.

Muslims, Christians and members of the security forces are all among the wounded.

The security forces have now sealed some parts of the city to stop people moving around.

The violence is reported to have been sparked off by rumours circulating in the Muslim sector of Ambon that a member of their community had been attacked by Christians.

Islamic volunteers

It is an indication of the level of tension now prevailing in the city after as many as 2,000 members of the radical Muslim organisation, Lashkar Jihad, arrived in the Moluccan Islands ready to fight a "holy war".

A military official in Ambon confirmed to the BBC there had been another big influx of Lashkar Jihad volunteers at the beginning of this week.

They had travelled hundreds of kilometres from the central island of Java after receiving several weeks of military training near the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

Their leaders have pledged to launch a holy war in the Moluccan Islands.

The government initially said it would do all it could to stop them travelling to the region, including putting the navy on alert.

Now the authorities say there is nothing they can do to prevent them going as they're not armed - even though it is widely known it is easy to get hold of weapons once in the area.