Church leaders in Indonesia have called for international peacekeepers to be sent to the Moluccan islands if security forces cannot control the escalating religious violence.

More than 60 people have been killed and scores injured in religious clashes between Christians and Muslims in the region in less than a week.

The Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) said what was happening in the islands was tantamount to genocide.

In the provincial capital Ambon, more than 40 people have been killed and up to 100 injured since clashes began on Sunday.

The security forces say they are bringing the situation under control, but they have been blamed for many of the injuries after opening fire during the clashes.

Both Muslims and Christians have accused the Indonesian military of backing the other side.

Sporadic explosions could still be heard in Ambon on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses say they have seen decapitated bodies being dragged through the streets of the city.

And they say armed gangs from the rival communities have been sniping at each other with home-made guns for a third day.

The Indonesian Communion of Churches said the army and police must be held accountable for the conflict.

It added that if the security forces could not restore peace they should be withdrawn and "replaced with international peacekeepers".

Bombs

The latest violence was sparked on Sunday by reports that a 14-year-old Muslim boy had been run over by a vehicle driven by a Christian.

Clashes broke out in Trikora Square, in the centre of the port city, between rival factions using guns, slingshots and home-made bombs.

Indonesian marines tried to separate the warring factions using barbed wire roadblocks but the gangs bypassed the barriers.

A hospital official said at least 46 people had been killed.

Buildings burned

A mosque in the city and the Protestant Silo Church, the largest in the city, were both burned in the attack. Dozens of other buildings have also been torched.

Our Jakarta correspondent Richard Galpin says the area is looking increasingly like a war zone.

Earlier this month, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri visited the Moluccan Islands to appeal for religious tolerance.

More than 700 people have died in religious violence in the region since last January.