The latest violence in Ambon which began on Monday is reported to have claimed the lives of up to 40 people.

As further clashes broke out on Thursday, security forces are reported to have opened fire on a crowd of about 2,000 after three more were killed in inter-religious violence.

Elsewhere, the bodies 14 people were found in the burned-out wreckage of a building in the island's capital, Ambon city.

Gunshot wounds

Military spokesman Captain Sutarno said that another 257 civilians and 16 security officers had been injured in the recent clashes.

"Most of the victims suffered gunshot wounds," he said. "There are indications that some civilians were firing weapons."

More than 200 homes have also been destroyed in the fighting and local Indonesian media have described the island as a war zone.

Throughout the day eyewitnesses have reported that rival groups were continuing to block parts of the road from the airport to the city.

Seeking refuge

Hundreds of refugees have crowded the island's ferry port trying to escape to other provinces.

Other local residents have been seeking shelter in churches, mosques and military facilities.

Since the beginning of the year more than 300 people have been killed in similar clashes.

BBC correspondents in the region say religious strife has been an abiding fear of the Indonesian authorities.