Indonesian Christian/Muslim clash continues

MALUKU, Indonesia – More that 300 people died in clashes recently between Indonesian Christians and Muslims.

In North Malice province, some 250 people have been killed in violence that began Dec. 26, a military spokesman said. The fighting on the island of Halmahera began when a mob of 400 Christians attacked a Muslim village, according to Lt. Col. Iwa Budiman, a local military spokesman. In the adjoining province of Maluku, 68 people have died in similar sectarian clashes since Dec. 26, according to local news reports. Fighting there abated Dec. 30, although tensions remained high in Ambon, then Maluku provincial capital.

The death toll is the highest in year of often savage fighting between Christians and Muslims in the two provinces, which were known as the Spice Islands under Dutch colonial rule, the Associated Press reported.