Religious violence erupts in Moluccas

A man was burnt to death when a mob torched his van

Rioting has broken out in Indonesia's Moluccas islands following the reported killing of three women in the religiously-divided region.

Mobs took to the streets in a predominantly-Muslim quarter of the regional capital, Ambon, and torched a van carrying Christians - one person was burnt to death, police said.

The rioting was apparently triggered by news that three Muslim women had been shot dead on a beach on the island of Sapura.

The Moluccas, some 2,300 kilometres (1,400 miles) east of Jakarta, have been plagued by clashes between Muslims and Christians for the past three years.

Continuing violence

Outbreaks of violence in the region have continued, despite a peace accord signed by both communities in February.

On Thursday, three teenage girls were killed when a home-made bomb went off at a sports centre in Ambon. A 20-year-old woman later died of her injuries.

Indonesia's Vice-President, Hamzah Haz, blamed the bombing on provocateurs who, he said, wanted to destabilise the fragile archipelago.

He denied the attack was motivated by religious rivalry.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the Moluccas since religious violence erupted in January 1999, sparked by a minor traffic accident in Ambon.