Troops go to Borneo as killing toll mounts

Thousands of Madurese refugees struggle to get onto evacuation trucks

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia will send special forces troops to Borneo following ethnic bloodshed that has killed at least 270 people, according to reports.

Renewed violence has spread fears that Indonesia could be headed for an economic collapse unless the government stops the killings and restores political stability.

"The serious nature of the feud between the Madurese and the Dayak people make it necessary for us to send the special forces there," an Indonesian newspaper quoted President Abdurrahman Wahid during his trip to Egypt on Monday.

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The official Antara news agency said thousands of armed indigenous Dayaks roamed the streets of Palangkaraya Sunday night, wielding spears and swords, hunting Madurese immigrants, and burning homes.

On Sunday, about 7,500 people piled onto two navy evacuation ships to flee the killings.

Thousands trapped

About 10,000 people failed to secure a place on either ship and were forced to take shelter at a squalid, makeshift camp outside a local police station while gangs of armed Dayak men roamed Sampit, about 480 miles northeast of Jakarta.

An armed indigenous Dayak stands in front of a burning Madurese house

Several of the refugees lambasted Indonesia's security forces for failing to protect them and for not providing a safe passage out of the town.

"My two children are dead. They cut their heads off. They slaughtered my husband and dragged his body through the streets," said Suriya Fauzi, a refugee waiting to be evacuated. "The police and army did nothing. They let this happen."

A mob of about 1,000 Dayak men, armed with spears and machetes and chanting "War, War!", hunted settlers from the island of Madura hiding in forests, while continuing to besiege about 15,000 refugees sheltering in squalid camps and awaiting government to evacuation.

"I have eaten a bit of a person's heart," said one of the apparent killers, Fabian Charles. "It gave me strength and I took his spirit."

Another Dayak leader Christopel Hutte said his men had killed more than 1,000 Madurese settlers. He said the slaughter would continue until all of them had fled Central Kalimantan province.

In the past few years, hundreds have died in clashes in the area, most sparked by land disputes between the Dayaks and Madurese immigrants.

The Dayaks are fighting immigrants from the island of Madura, who were resettled on the island by the government to ease overcrowding in other areas.

Police absence

Despite two joint police and military battalions being dispatched to the region, few officers or soldiers could be seen patrolling the city's streets.

At one police station, officers played chess as dozens of Dayaks set fire to the nearby houses of fleeing migrants. A headless body lay not far up the road.

Police say they have already made 80 arrests.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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