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{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = Konflik sektarian Kepulauan Maluku
| partof =
| partof = [[Kebebasan beragama di Indonesia#Kerusuhan antar agama|konflik agama di Indonesia]]
| image = Ambon refugees, 1999.jpg
| caption = Pasukan militer = Tentara TNIIndonesia mengevakuasi pengungsi dari [[KepulauanPulau Ambon|Ambon]] selama konflik tahun 1999.
| date = 14 Januari 1999 – 13 Februari 2002
| time =
| place = [[Kepulauan Maluku]] (dengan gangguan yang sangat serius di [[Pulau Ambon|Ambon]] dan Kepulauan [[Halmahera]].)
| coordinates time-end =
| place = [[Kepulauan Maluku]] (dengan gangguan yang sangat serius di pulau [[Pulau Ambon|Ambon]] dan [[Halmahera]])
| goals =
| methods coordinates =
| causes = Ketegangan etnis dan agama, transmigrasi
| status =
| goals =
| result = [[Piagam Malino II]] ditandatangani
| methods = Akuisisi teritorial, kerusuhan, pogrom, pemboman, protes, pengusiran
* Kedamaian antar kedua pihak [[Muslim]] dan [[Kristen]] di [[Maluku]]
| result = [[Piagam Malino II]]
| side1 = {{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} [[Islam|Kelompok Putih]]
| side1 = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} [[Islam di Indonesia|Masyarakat Muslim dan Islamis di Maluku]]|<hr />{{flagicon image|Laskar jihad flag.png}} [[Laskar Jihad]]|{{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Komando Jihad]]|{{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} [[Front Pembela Islam]]|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Taliban.svg}} [[Jemaah Islamiyah]]|{{flagicon image|Laskar mujahidin flag.jpg}} [[Laskar Mujahidin]]}}
* {{flagicon image|Laskar jihad flag.png}} [[Laskar Jihad]]
| side2 = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} [[Kristen di Indonesia|Masyarakat Kristen di Maluku]]|<hr />{{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} [[Laskar Kristus]]|{{flagicon image|Flag of South Moluccas.svg}} [[Front Kedaulatan Maluku]]| {{flagicon image|Images (5).jpeg}} [[Brigade Manguni]]}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Komando Jihad]]
| side3 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Indonesia.svg}} [[Pemerintah Indonesia]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.svg}}
* {{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} [[Front Pembela Islam]]
*[[Tentara Nasional Indonesia]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the TalibanIndonesian National Police.svgpng}} [[Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia]]<br /> {{brflagicon image|Flag of Indonesia.svg}} [[JemaahPemuda IslamiyahPancasila]]
| side1a = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan putih flag.png}} {{flagicon image|Pasukan jihad flag.png}} [[Pasukan Jihad]]|{{flagicon image|Desa sabaleh flag.png}} [[Desa Sabaleh]]|{{flagicon image|Laskar mujahida galela flag.png}} [[Laskar Mujahidah]]}}
* {{flagicon image|Laskar mujahidin flag.jpg}} Laskar Mujahidin
* {{flagicon image|Pasukan putihside2a flag.png}}= {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Pasukan jihadmerah flag.png}} Pasukan JihadMerah}}
*| side3a = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|DesaPasukan sabalehkuning flagkunning.png}} Desa[[Pasukan SabalehKuning]]}}
| leadfigures1 = {{ubl|[[Ja'far Umar Thalib]]|Jumu Tuani|[[Rizieq Shihab]]|[[Abu Bakar Ba'asyir]]|[[Abu Bakar Wahid]]}}
* {{flagicon image|Laskar mujahida galela flag.png}} Laskar Mujahida
| leadfigures2 = {{ubl|Agus Wattimena{{KIA}}|Berty Loupatty|Alex Manuputty|Benny Betjara|Decky Maengkom| Lendy Wangke}}
| side2 = {{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} [[Kristen|Kelompok Merah]]
| leadfigures3 = {{ubl|[[Abdurrahman Wahid]]|[[Wiranto]]}}
* {{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} [[Laskar Kristus]]
| howmany1 = 20.000 Pasukan
* {{flagicon image|Pasukan merah flag.png}} Coker (“Handsome Boys”)
| howmany2 = 700 Pasukan
* {{flagicon image|Flag of South Moluccas.svg}} [[Front Kedaulatan Maluku]]
| fatalities = 5.000 terbunuh<ref>{{cite news |title=Saling bunuh, saling bakar sampai... 'sayang kamu semua': Mantan tentara anak Islam dan Kristen Ambon |url=https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-43207033 |access-date=31 Januari 2022 |publisher=BBC |date=27 Februari 2018}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Black flag.svg}} [[Pasukan Manguni Makasiouw|Brigade Manguni]]
| side3 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Indonesia.svg}} [[Pemerintah Indonesia]]<hr />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.svg}}
[[Tentara Nasional Indonesia]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Indonesian National Police.png}} [[Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia]]<br /> [[File:Logo-Pemuda-Pancasila-PNG-Warna.png|25px]] [[Pemuda Pancasila]]
| leadfigures1 = {{ubl|[[Ja'far Umar Thalib]]|Jumu Tuani|[[Rizieq Shihab]]|[[Abu Bakar Ba'asyir]]|[[Abu Bakar Wahid]]}}
| leadfigures2 ={{ubl|Agus Wattimena{{KIA}}|Berty Loupatty|Alex Manuputty|Tonaas Wangko Lendy Wangke|Benny Betjara}}
| leadfigures3 ={{ubl|[[Abdurrahman Wahid]]}}
| fatalities = 5,000-10,000 tewas<ref>{{cite news |title=Saling bunuh, saling bakar sampai... ’sayang kamu semua’: Mantan tentara anak Islam dan Kristen Ambon |url=https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-43207033 |access-date=31 January 2022 |publisher=BBC |date=27 February 2018}}</ref>
}}
{{Sejarah Indonesia}}
 
'''Konflik sektarian Kepulauan Maluku''' adalah konflik etnis-politik yang melibatkan kelompok agama di kepulauan[[Kepulauan Maluku]], [[Indonesia]], khususnya pulau [[Pulau Ambon]] dan [[Pulau Halmahera]]. Konflik ini bermula pada [[Reformasi Indonesia|era Reformasi]] awal 1999 hingga penandatanganan [[Piagam Malino II]] tanggal 13 Februari 2002.
 
Penyebab utama konflik ini adalah ketidakstabilan politik dan ekonomi secara umum di [[Indonesia]] setelah [[Soeharto]] tumbang dan [[rupiah]] mengalami devaluasi selama dan seusai [[krisis keuangan Asia 1997|krisis ekonomi di Asia Tenggara]].<ref name="Bertrand 2004 122">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=122}}</ref> Rencana pemekaran [[Kepulauan Maluku|provinsi Maluku]] menjadi [[Maluku (provinsi)|Maluku]] dan [[Maluku Utara]] semakin memperuncing permasalahan politik daerah yang sudah ada.<ref name=north>{{cite journal|last=Duncan|first=Christopher R.|title=The Other Maluku: Chronologies of Conflict in North Maluku|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_indonesia_2005-10_80/page/53|journal=Indonesia|date=October 2005|volume=80|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|pages=53–80|jstor=3351319}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|pp=129–131}}</ref> Karena permasalahan politik tersebut menyangkut agama, perseteruan terjadi antara umat [[Kristen]] dan [[Muslim|Islam]] pada Januari 1999. Perseteruan ini dengan cepat berubah menjadi pertempuran dan tindak kekerasan terhadap [[warga sipil]] oleh kedua belah pihak.<ref name=cascade>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=50}}</ref> Dua pihak utama yang terlibat konflik ini adalah kelompok milisi agama dari kedua pihak,<ref name=sidelternate>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=181}}</ref> termasuk kelompok [[Islamis]] bernama [[Laskar Jihad]],<ref name=laksar>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=184}}</ref> kelompok Kristen Dari Manado bernama Brigade Manguni dan [[Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia]].<ref name="Bertrand 2004 133">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=133}}</ref>
 
== Ringkasan ==
Meskipun semua kekerasan yang terjadi selama periode empat tahun ini tidak dapat dikaitkan secara langsung dengan isu-isu politik atau sektarian, karena sebagian besar kekerasan dapat dikaitkan dengan kejahatan oportunistik, kekerasan tersebut dikategorikan berdasarkan kampanye bersenjata kelompok milisi lokal yang menargetkan hampir secara eksklusif terhadap penduduk sipil di pulau-pulau tersebut.<ref name="Hedman 2008 53">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=53}}</ref> Hal ini juga termasuk kelompok milisi Laskar Jihad, yang terdiri dari para pejuang terlatih dari wilayah mayoritas Muslim lainnya di Indonesia, yang melakukan kampanye pada tahap akhir konflik untuk mengusir penduduk Kristen di Maluku.<ref name="laksar2" /><ref name="timedirty">{{cite news|last=Elegant|first=Simon|date=17 December 2001|title=Indonesia's Dirty Little Holy War|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,187655,00.html|newspaper=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423064855/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,187655,00.html|archive-date=23 April 2010|access-date=31 March 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Di sisi lain, dalam beberapa kasus, milisi Kristen juga melakukan penyerangan dan pembantaian terhadap umat Islam, tepatnya pada hari raya Idul Fitri, 19 Januari 1999 di [[Tobelo, Halmahera Utara|Tobelo]].<ref>{{cite web|date=5 May 2020|title=Mengenang Tragedi Pembantaian Umat Islam Maluku (Idul Fitri Berdarah)|url=https://penanews.net/mengenang-tragedi-pembantaian-umat-islam-maluku-idul-fitri-berdarah/|website=penanews.net|language=id|access-date=1 June 2023}}</ref> Sifat kekerasan tersebut dimaksudkan untuk menggusur anggota komunitas saingannya, karena kekerasan tersebut mengambil bentuk penggusuran massal melalui penggunaan intimidasi dan pelecehan, diikuti dengan serangan keji terhadap kelompok besar penduduk setempat dan serangan pembakaran terhadap tempat tinggal mereka atau bahkan seluruh rumah. lingkungan yang dalam beberapa kasus dapat disebut sebagai pogrom.<ref name="laksar2" /><ref>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=187}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=54}}</ref><ref name="compass">{{cite web|title=Muslims being massacred in North Halmahera: a post-christmas tragedy at the start of the 21st century|url=http://compassion.homestead.com/files/Muslims__North_Halmahera.htm|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> Salah satu contohnya adalah pada bulan April 1999, seluruh warga Kristen diusir dari Kepulauan Banda.<ref name="vanambon">{{cite journal|last=van Klinken|first=Gerry|date=April 2001|title=The Maluku Wars: Bringing Society Back In|journal=Indonesia|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|volume=71|issue=71|pages=1–26|doi=10.2307/3351455|jstor=3351455|hdl=1813/54221|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
 
Meskipun menembakkan sekitar 80% dari seluruh amunisi yang dihabiskan dalam pertempuran tersebut,<ref name="braith166">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=166}}</ref> Kepolisian dan TNI mengaku netral sepanjang konflik. Namun, pihak berwenang dikritik karena tidak mencegah serangan dan tuduhan bias etnis dan agama dituduhkan oleh kedua komunitas tersebut.<ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=296}}</ref><ref name="bert4">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=127}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=179}}</ref> khususnya sejumlah tentara menyerahkan senjata milik negara, sebagian besar kepada anggota milisi Muslim, dan mengatakan bahwa senjata tersebut digunakan dalam serangan dan kekejaman yang terjadi kemudian.<ref>{{cite web|last=Aditjondro|first=George J.|date=15 March 2000|title=The political economy of violence in Maluku|url=http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/22802|work=Issue 397|publisher=Green Left Weekly|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref>Dalam beberapa kasus, personel baik militer maupun polisi dilaporkan telah bergabung dengan milisi agama mereka masing-masing, dan sebanyak 350 personel militer diduga membantu dan berjuang bersama para pejuang Muslim.<ref name="braith166" /> Awalnya kelompok-kelompok milisi lokal mengorganisir diri mereka sebagai 'pembela' dan 'pelindung' komunitas mereka dari serangan lawan, dengan mendirikan posko atau pos komando karena tidak adanya tindakan dari Polisi, namun hal ini dengan cepat berkembang menjadi titik mobilisasi geng-geng lokal untuk melancarkan serangan.<ref name="hed46">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=46}}</ref>
 
Konflik ini mempunyai dampak yang signifikan terhadap 2,1 juta penduduk di Maluku dan sekitarnya. Menjelang perjanjian Malino, International Crisis Group memperkirakan 700.000 orang telah mengungsi akibat empat tahun pertempuran di Maluku yang diperkirakan telah memakan korban minimal 5.000 jiwa..<ref name="amboner">{{cite journal|last=Spyer|first=Patricia|date=October 2002|title=Fire without Smoke and Other Phantoms of Ambon's Violence: Media Effects, Agency, and the Work of Imagination|journal=Indonesia|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|volume=74|issue=74|pages=21–36|doi=10.2307/3351523|jstor=3351523|hdl=1813/54277|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Hal ini merupakan perpindahan pengungsi terbesar sejak federasi negara Indonesia dan mayoritas dari 1,4 juta pengungsi dalam negeri yang dilaporkan pada bulan Februari 2002 oleh Program Pangan Dunia.<ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=208}}</ref>
 
== Latar belakang ==
 
=== Faktor politik dan ekonomi ===
Desentralisasi mendorong upaya baru pada tahun 1998 agar pulau-pulau di bagian utara maluku memisahkan diri dari provinsi maluku. Pemisahan diri ini didukung oleh semua pihak, baik agama maupun politik, karena warganya mempunyai kekhawatiran yang sama mengenai kesulitan logistik terkait dengan jarak di wilayah tersebut, perampasan kekayaan ekonomi oleh pihak luar, dan pemerintahan yang jauh dan tidak terlibat di Ambon. Gerakan ini mendapat dukungan penting dari gubernur provinsi Maluku saat itu, Saleh Latuconsina, dan setelah dilakukan lobi oleh para anggota DPRD dan aktivis mahasiswa terkemuka di Maluku Utara, pada bulan Februari 1999, presiden saat itu, Jusuf Habibie, berjanji untuk membentuk provinsi baru di Maluku Utara.
 
Pemerintahan otoriter Suharto (Orde Baru), yang menjadi subordinat hierarki agama Kristen dan Muslim seperti Al-Khaira'at dan Gereja Protestan Maluku, telah memberikan kelompok tersebut kekuasaan koersif atas komunitas mereka masing-masing dan menjamin struktur majelis dan dewan lokal yang relatif stabil. distribusi kekuasaan selama beberapa dekade sebelumnya. Mengidentifikasikan diri dengan kelompok agama yang memegang kekuasaan politik memungkinkan seseorang mengakses jaringan yang memberikan bantuan, perlindungan dari kejahatan dan manfaat praktis lainnya bagi anggotanya dan, seperti yang disarankan oleh ilmuwan politik Gerry van Klinken, jaringan ini memungkinkan terjadinya perselisihan kecil mengenai hal ini. permukaan jalan tersebar di sebagian besar masyarakat Maluku. Namun, jatuhnya struktur Orde Baru secara nasional dan desentralisasi memungkinkan persaingan pemilu yang terbuka dan kompetitif untuk mendapatkan posisi-posisi pemerintahan di tingkat daerah, yang memiliki prestise dan keuntungan ekonomi, menimbulkan keraguan mengenai jumlah pemilih yang dapat diklaim oleh masing-masing kelompok dan jumlah tersebut berada dalam batas yang ditentukan. kepentingan terbaik semua kelompok penting untuk memobilisasi dukungan bagi tujuan mereka masing-masing.<ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=56}}</ref>
 
Di provinsi Maluku Utara yang akan segera dibentuk, persaingan untuk mendapatkan posisi administratif yang baru sebagian besar terjadi antara calon gubernur Sultan Ternate, Mudaffar Sjah, yang mengandalkan dukungan dari Gereja Injili Halmahera (GMIH) yang berpengaruh, dan bupati Muslim Makian. dari Halmahera Tengah, Bahar Andili. Perombakan wilayah administratif dan perselisihan antara Tidore dan Ternate mengenai lokasi ibu kota yang akan segera menjadi ibu kota menimbulkan keraguan terhadap kelangsungan berbagai struktur kekuasaan yang ada dan mereka yang dipekerjakan oleh kelompok-kelompok yang membentuk struktur tersebut..<ref name="north2">{{cite journal|last=Duncan|first=Christopher R.|date=October 2005|title=The Other Maluku: Chronologies of Conflict in North Maluku|journal=Indonesia|series=Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University|volume=80|issue=80|pages=53–80|jstor=3351319}}</ref>
 
Kekuasaan ekonomi di Ambon sejak pertengahan tahun 1980an dan seterusnya dipegang oleh pegawai negeri sipil, kata P. M. Laksono, dan gaji serta bantuan keuangan mereka dari Jakarta menyumbang sebagian besar kekayaan yang masuk ke wilayah Maluku, karena produksi pertanian dan kelautan setempat sebagian besar bersifat subsisten dan komersial. operasi penangkapan ikan sebagian besar dimiliki asing. Beberapa perkiraan menyebutkan bahwa pekerjaan langsung sebagai pegawai negeri menyumbang seperempat dari total pekerjaan di Ambon dan angka dari tahun 1990 menyatakan bahwa 38% pekerja di Ternate dipekerjakan oleh pemerintah. Ketergantungan pada jumlah jabatan pelayanan publik yang umumnya statis menyebabkan pengangguran kaum muda di Ambon sangat tinggi; di Benteng di Ambon 73,2% penduduk terdaftar sebagai belum bekerja pada tahun 1994,<ref name="vanambon" /> dan para pemuda yang tidak puas inilah yang sebagian besar menjadi prajurit dalam konflik tersebut.
 
Namun kekerasan yang terjadi tidak dapat sepenuhnya dikaitkan dengan institusi politik atau agama; selama perselisihan komunal sebelum pecahnya kekerasan yang meluas, antara lain, di desa Wakal dan Hative Besar di Ambon, perwakilan mereka bertindak untuk memitigasi konflik tetapi dalam kasus tersebut banyak yang diabaikan.<ref name="con">{{cite journal|date=March 1999|title=IV. THE CONFLICT|url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1999/ambon/amron-03.htm#P162_35087|journal=Indonesia the Violence in Ambon|series=Human Rights Watch|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref>
[[Berkas:Maluku_sectarian_conflict_full.png|jmpl|320x320px|Overview of the conflict]]
 
=== Faktor adat ===
[[Berkas:AmbonCity2001.jpg|jmpl|300x300px|Kerusakan [[Kota Ambon]] pada tahun 2001. Apartemen yang dibentengi dengan karung pasir terlihat di latar depan.]]
Perubahan demografi juga disebut-sebut sebagai salah satu faktor penyebab ketegangan. Isu-isu khusus terkait dengan gangguan terhadap hak adat atas tanah, yang merupakan hal yang umum bagi komunitas agama asli Maluku, namun tidak terlalu menjadi perhatian para pendatang baru yang tidak tertarik pada sistem aliansi tradisional.
 
Penduduk Ambon sangat menganut teori pela gandung, yang menyatakan bahwa desa-desa, yang seringkali berbeda keyakinan agamanya, 'diikat oleh darah' untuk membantu satu sama lain dan perkawinan antar anggota desa dilarang, karena mereka adalah saudara sedarah. kerabat. Setiap pelanggaran terhadap aturan-aturan ini akan dihukum berat dengan kutukan dari nenek moyang yang mendirikan lembaga tersebut. Aliansi ini memfasilitasi hubungan yang memungkinkan perdamaian antar desa yang berstruktur kaku, baik yang sepenuhnya Kristen atau Islam, dan telah membentuk unit politik terbesar masyarakat Maluku sebelum adanya negara Indonesia. Namun, sistem ini tidak dapat mengakomodasi kepemilikan tanah dari pemilik tanah transmigran non-lokal dan berbasis desa.
 
Adat istiadat setempat yang menjaga rasa hormat ini juga telah dirusak oleh reformasi Islam, yang populer di Ternate pada tahun 1980-an, dan fatwa Persatuan Ulama Indonesia tahun 1981 yang melarang umat Kristiani berpartisipasi pada hari raya Islam yang membantu pemisahan komunitas agama.<ref name="north2" />
 
=== Faktor etnis ===
Ambon dan pulau-pulau sekitarnya mempunyai jumlah warga Kristen dan Muslim yang kira-kira sama pada tahun-tahun sebelum krisis. Namun, dalam periode tiga dekade setelah tahun 1969, sekitar 98.000 orang dimukimkan kembali di Maluku sebagai bagian dari program transmigrasi resmi pemerintah, sebagian besar adalah orang Bugis, Makassar atau Muslim lainnya dari Sulawesi Selatan. Para migran independen selanjutnya juga menetap di Maluku dan pada bulan Februari 1999 surat kabar nasional, Kompas, memperkirakan 225.000 migran dari Sulawesi Selatan telah menetap di Kepulauan Maluku dan 30.000 diantaranya tinggal di Ambon. Pemilik suku Bugis dan Buton dengan cepat meningkatkan pangsa pedagang dan perdagangan eceran mereka di Ambon hingga pasar-pasar tersebut secara khusus menjadi sasaran geng-geng Kristen pada tahap-tahap awal pertempuran di Kota Ambon sebagai cara untuk merugikan komunitas Muslim.<ref name="Bertrand 2004 1222" /><ref name="con" />
 
Pergeseran ini berkontribusi pada peningkatan keterwakilan birokrasi dan politik umat Islam di kabupaten-kabupaten Maluku, dengan terpilihnya dua gubernur Muslim berturut-turut pada tahun 1992 dan 1997 yang mulai mengisi lowongan pegawai negeri dengan orang-orang Muslim yang diangkat, dan disebut-sebut menciptakan kegelisahan dalam komunitas Kristen. tentang potensi Islamisasi di Maluku, yang berkontribusi terhadap ketegangan sektarian.<ref name="amboner" /><ref name="what">{{cite journal|last=van Klinken|first=Gerry|date=December 1999|title=What caused the Ambon violence?|url=http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-60/what-caused-the-ambon-violence|journal=Inside Indonesia|volume=60|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206201132/http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-60/what-caused-the-ambon-violence|archive-date=6 February 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
Pada tahap-tahap awal konflik, perpindahan penduduk dalam skala besar dari Ambon ke Maluku Utara, khususnya Ternate, dan rumor serta kejahatan yang diceritakan oleh para pengungsi kepada penduduk setempat disebut-sebut sebagai faktor meningkatnya ketegangan sektarian dan kekerasan awal di masa awal konflik. Maluku Utara pada bulan Agustus 1999.<ref name="sidelternate2" /><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|p=45}}</ref>
 
=== North Halmahera land disputes ===
In North Maluku the population was 85% Muslim prior to the start of conflict.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="heds">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=41}}</ref> There had been a steady exodus of Makianese from the island of [[Makian]] to Ternate and the northern regions of [[Halmahera]].<ref name="van">{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=117}}</ref> Dozens of villages had been established and populated by Makianese [[Transmigration program|transmigrants]] who had moved there from the neighbouring island during the 1970s, following fears of a volcanic eruption.<ref name="van" /><ref>{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=209}}</ref> Some of the migrant Makianese had been shifted to live and cultivate on or near land traditionally [[Adat|claimed]] by the Jailolo and Kao ethno-linguistic groups, and claims to the land became more forceful with the discovery of gold deposits in the 1990s and the announcement of an Australian owned mine to open in mid-1999.<ref name="goop">{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=118}}</ref><ref name="gold">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=49}}</ref>
 
Resentment of the increasing influence of Makianese was not restricted to the Christian minorities, with mistrust aired in [[Ternate]] and [[Tidore]] following their attainment of important regional positions outside the traditional Makianese homeland.<ref name="north2" />
 
The dispute over [[land rights]] acquired a religious edge as the migrant Makianese were mostly Muslim while the 'indigenous' Jailolo and Kao were predominantly [[Protestant]],<ref name="gold" /> however, there had also been a steady transmigration of Muslim [[Javanese people|Javanese]] to the Kao lands (even though the indigenous Christian population had been cooperative with the new residents).<ref name="north2" />
 
In 1999 the Kao and Jailolo claims received backing from the Sultan of [[Ternate]] and Protestant ethno-political groups, while the Makianese were supported by Muslim candidates, in their respective attempts to assume governorship of the newly established North Maluku province.<ref name="cascade2" /> During 1999, the [[Government of Indonesia|national government]] agreed with Makian lobbyists to create a new Muslim majority Malifut sub-district, or ''kecamatan'', which incorporated 16 Makianese settlements, several villages of Christian Pagu and Kao and the strategic gold deposits on the disputed lands.<ref name="goop" /><ref name="gold" /> The Pagu did not wish to be ruled by a Makian majority local government and viewed the ruling as an attempt to damage the traditional unity of the Kao tribes.<ref name="north2" /> The first communal violence in [[Halmahera]] coincided with 18 August formal inauguration of the Malifut sub-district.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="goop" /><ref name="gold" />
 
=== Criminal factors ===
The crisis was also allegedly permeated by the rivalry of two large semi-criminal gangs that operated in Ambon and, allegedly, Jakarta. The gangs possessed a quasi-religious identity; the 'Reds' identifying as Christian and 'Whites' as Muslim, and had prepared contingency plans for an attack from the other prior to the start of conflict in 1999.<ref name="what" />
 
The [[Human Rights Watch]] report concerning Ambon hostilities cites a major communal confrontation of Ambonese migrants in the [[Ketapang]] area of Jakarta on 22 November 1998,<ref name="amboner" /> which saw up to 14 killed<ref name="vanambon" /> and numerous church burnings following rumors that Christian Ambonese guards of a significant gambling house had destroyed a Mosque.<ref name="hrw">{{cite journal|date=March 1999|title=III. WAS THE CONFLICT PROVOKED?|url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1999/ambon/amron-02.htm#P144_30372|journal=Human Rights Watch|series=INDONESIA THE VIOLENCE IN AMBON|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="hed47">{{harvnb|Hedman|2008|p=47}}</ref> Most of the 180 arrested in the immediate aftermath of the violence were of Ambonese origin.<ref name="hrw" />
 
In the several months prior to the start of hostilities a few hundred Ambonese returned from [[Jakarta]]<ref name="amboner" /><ref name="hed47" /> and it has been asserted that some were loyal to the leaders of criminal gangs,<ref name="hrw" /><ref name="bert">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=125}}</ref> however, it cannot be independently confirmed whether these were [[Agent provocateur|agents provocateurs]] or workers returning to avoid retaliation.<ref name="hrw" />
 
Soon-to-be president [[Abdurrahman Wahid]] indicated that the individual personally responsible for the Ambon unrest was Yorrys Raweyai, the leader of mercenary group [[Pancasila Youth]] that had been known to act as hired "muscle" for the Suharto administration activities.<ref name="hrw" /><ref name="bert2">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=126}}</ref> While the ''agent provocateur'' theory remains popular as an explanation for the start of the crisis, of the 100 or so people arrested for crimes committed during the Ambon unrest, only two have been charged for incitement and neither is believed to be an external agent.<ref name="hrw" /><ref name="bert2" />
 
== Timeline of conflict in Southern Maluku ==
 
=== First Ambon riots ===
On 14 January 1999, there had been a riot between rival villages in [[Dobo, Indonesia|Dobo]], of the [[Aru Islands Regency]], that killed up to 12 people,<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="van98">{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=98}}</ref><ref name="braith156">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|pp=156–157}}</ref> however, the broad scale violence of the Maluku conflict began on [[Idul Fitri]], an Islamic holiday that was on 19 January 1999.<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="van98" /><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|p=43}}</ref> Fighting in [[Ambon City]] during the first 3 or so days claimed anywhere from 43 to 65 lives,<ref name="bbc0">{{cite news|date=24 January 1999|title=Uneasy calm in Indonesia|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/indonesia/latest_news/262008.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="tempo1">{{cite news|date=26 January 1999|title=Getir Ambon di Idul Fitri|url=http://ip52-214.cbn.net.id/id/arsip/1999/01/26/NAS/mbm.19990126.NAS93321.id.html|newspaper=Tempo|language=id|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110818153703/http://ip52-214.cbn.net.id/id/arsip/1999/01/26/NAS/mbm.19990126.NAS93321.id.html|archive-date=18 August 2011|access-date=2 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="dn">{{cite news|date=22 January 1999|title=Death toll in rioting rises to 43|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IlZBAAAAIBAJ&pg=6291,1562629&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Daily News|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> with bodies discovered weeks after in the ruins of Ambon.<ref name="bbc3">{{cite news|date=3 February 1999|title=Ambon death toll rises|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/270227.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> Over 100 were seriously injured at least 10 houses of worship had been destroyed,<ref name="du">{{cite news|date=21 January 1999|title=24 Dead; Indonesia Muslims, Christians clash|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nr5EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3631,1280058&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Associated Press via Daily Union|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> with the loss of homes and significant retail services forcing the displacement of up to 20,000 residents.<ref name="lodi">{{cite news|date=22 January 1999|title=24 Dead as Muslims, Christians Clash|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UGczAAAAIBAJ&pg=6844,2440763&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Associated Press via Lodi News-Sentinel|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="bbc1">{{cite news|last=Head|first=Jonathan|date=21 February 1999|title=Ambon runs short of food|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/283530.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> Ambon airport was closed and a curfew applied in the town for the week after.<ref name="tempo1" /><ref name="lodi" /> The weapons used in this early period of rioting were mainly machetes, flaming arrows, spears, and other traditional weapons, and arson was as widespread as it would be throughout the conflict.<ref name="hed46" /><ref name="lodi" /><ref name="bbc6">{{cite news|last=Head|first=Jonathan|date=24 February 1999|title=Religious riots on Indonesian island|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/285182.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref>
 
==== Initial 19 January confrontation ====
It is widely recorded that the initial confrontation that sparked the conflict was between a Christian minibus driver and either some Bugis youths,<ref name="north2" /><ref name="con" /><ref>{{harvnb|Sidel|2007|p=177}}</ref> a drunk<ref name="indonews">{{cite news|date=3 January 2000|title=Indonesia Probes Massacre|url=http://www.mail-archive.com/indonews@indo-news.com/msg05800.html|newspaper=Indonesia Daily News|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref> or a Muslim conductor,<ref name="con" /> near a bus terminal in Batu Merah village. Despite the differing accounts, it is agreed that a mob, Church reports state some 600 people,<ref name="con" /> of Muslim residents gathered and marched upon the Christian areas of Batu Merah at approximately 16:00 ([[UTC+9]]), where they torched numerous houses and several businesses by Mardika market.<ref name="con" /> The group had been driven on by incorrect rumors that the local mosque had been torched and faced little opposition from the police force, which only fielded ten lightly armed intelligence members due to the holiday.<ref name="con" /> More Christian houses were burnt in Silale and Waihaong [[Kampung|kampungs]] later in the afternoon and the first church was torched also.<ref name="con" /> Throughout this initial confrontation it was widely observed that the violence was directed by people from outside the area.<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="con" />
 
After hearing of the destruction of homes, Christian residents gathered outside Kudamati church to launch a counter-offensive and defend those at Mardika, but were blocked by a Muslim crowd at Waringin in the first direct clash of the two sects with the largest confrontation at Mardika plaza.<ref name="Bertrand 2004 1332" /><ref name="con" /> A truck carrying 50 unidentified youths is alleged to have arrived in Waringin around 17:00 (UTC+9) and the occupants were seen damaging homes and other property with metal bars and rocks,<ref name="con" /> but residents of Waringin claim they fended off the attacks. There had not yet been any casualties and police assured Waringin residents they could return home safely.<ref name="con" />
 
At 20:00 (UTC+9) in the evening, around 30 Christians fought back a crowd of Muslims attempting to enter the Silo church, while others were observed gathering to destroy kiosks and pedicabs owned by Muslim [[Bugis]] and [[Butonese people|Butonese]].<ref name="con" /> All witnesses describe that by this time violent parties were identifying themselves with either red scarfs or headbands, to signify Christians, or white cloths on their wrists to signify Muslims<ref name="Hedman 2008 53" /><ref name="vanambon" /><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|2008|p=119}}</ref><ref name="bert5">{{harvnb|Bertrand|2004|p=128}}</ref> as they had been instructed by the head of an information post at the al-Fatah mosque.<ref name="con" />
 
==== Commencement of civil disobedience in Ambon ====
On the night of 19 January, witnesses report that large, and allegedly well organised, groups of Christian rioters entered Kampung Paradeys in several waves, smashing and looting from Muslim homes on the orders of an unknown leader.<ref name="con" /> The targets of the attackers were [[Buton]], [[Bugis]] and [[Javanese people|Javanese]] migrants, however, the mob was indiscriminate in the burning of Muslim houses in the neighbourhood.<ref name="con" />
 
In Waringin, Christian rioters are alleged to have attacked the property of Muslim locals multiple times during the night, injuring 6, and some Christians identified as from the Nusaniwe subdistrict attacked again with [[Molotov cocktail|Molotov cocktails]] around 10:00 (UTC+9) on 20 January, igniting fires that are claimed to have caused the destruction by arson of 120 houses.<ref name="con" /> This destruction heralded the first large-scale displacement of people, as 240 households took refuge in other Muslim [[kampung]],<ref name="hed46" /> contributing to the estimated 3,000 that fled in the initial 3 days of fighting.<ref name="lodi" />
 
During the early morning of 20 January, Christian mobs burned the overwhelmingly [[Bugis]]-owned stalls of the Pelita, Gambus and Mardika markets while a large settlement of Butonese people around the Gambus market was also looted and destroyed. An Islamic elementary school and kindergarten were also burned, and there was selective burning of Muslim-owned property, such as [[Padang cuisine|Padang restaurants]], along Ambon's main streets.<ref name="con" /> At least one Butonese school-girl was among several reported killed during the rioting at Gunung Nona, struck by a [[machete]] and placed in a sack,<ref name="con" /> and other bodies were found during the following days in the ashes of destroyed buildings, trapped by the rapidly moving flames.<ref name="bbc0" /><ref name="bbc3" />
 
==== 20 January attack on Benteng Karang and other villages ====
Muslim residents of Hitu, Wakal and Mamala were told a rumor early on 20 January that the al-Fatah mosque in [[Ambon, Maluku|Ambon]] had been desecrated and demolished, and many worshipers massacred; hearsay for which a candidate for village head in Hitu was later arrested on [[Incitement|charges of incitement]].<ref name="con" /> The irate Muslims of Hitu were to march to Ambon in protest, passing several Christian villages in the hinterland region. In assaults that claimed around 20 lives many villages were partially or wholly destroyed by the 3,000 strong mob.<ref name="bbc1" /><ref name="sala3">{{cite web|last=Manuputty|first=Rev. Jacky|title=Chronologies of Recent Unrest in Ambon (in English)|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enChronologies.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref>
 
One of the first villages the mob had to pass through on the Ambon road was Benteng Karang, an all-Christian village where they launched their attack.<ref name="con" /> Police warned the residents of Benteng Karang on two occasions they were likely to be attacked, and a group had gathered around the main church shortly before the arrival of the marchers.<ref name="con" /> The marchers allegedly bombed the Catholic Church with a [[Dynamite fishing|fishing bomb]] and [[Arson|set fire to three other churches]], before attacking the sheltering families of the 40 who sought to defend the village.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1">{{cite web|last=Hattu|first=Hengky|date=1 February 1999|title=Serie 1 : Tragedi Penyerangan dan Pembantaian di Ambon (in Indonesian)|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/idSerie1.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> The village was entirely destroyed and 16 died in the massacre, all from Benteng Karang, including one pregnant mother and child.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" />
 
The large movement of Hitu Muslims continued to advance upon Ambon through the mixed-faith hillside villages of Hunuth, Waiheru, Nania and Negeri Lama who were warned of the advance by survivors of Benteng Karang.<ref name="con" /><ref name="ambonup">{{cite web|title=[INDONESIA-L] Ambon Update|url=http://www.hamline.edu/apakabar/basisdata/1999/02/01/0051.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916051729/http://www.hamline.edu/apakabar/basisdata/1999/02/01/0051.html|archive-date=16 September 2006|access-date=1 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="sala0">{{cite web|last=Go|first=Kie-Eng|title=Ambon: Unreported Facts|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enAmbonUnreportedFacts.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> Women and children of Hunuth took refuge on boats while the men attempted to defend their property, but soon fled after the death of one defender.<ref name="sala0" /> A teenage boy and a military veteran were killed and least 40 Christian owned houses, two churches and a health service post were burned in the other villages.<ref name="con" /><ref name="ambonup" /><ref name="sala0" />
 
The movement was confronted by residents at Posso, who had mobilized after hearing of the destruction of Benteng Karang. At the point of contact a group of 10 soldiers attempted to restrain each side from advancing, however the units were forced to withdraw after coming under attack with missiles.<ref name="con" /> The number of armed Posso residents steadily grew to over 100 as the defenders repelled several advances and, eventually, an agreement was negotiated whereby the Hitu Muslims were to return to Hitu in army trucks.<ref name="con" /> Most, however, returned on foot and are known to have murdered a local [[Minister (Christianity)|Protestant minister]] in the village of Nania also.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala0" />
 
==== 20 January attack on Hila Bible camp ====
Some 120 people, which some sources describe as mostly children and teens,<ref name="cox">{{cite book|last=Cox|first=Caroline|author2=Catherine Butcher|year=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vd0wOTmd_PUC&q=roy+pontoh&pg=PA6|title=Cox's book of modern saints and martyrs|publisher=Continuum|isbn=9780826487889|pages=6–8|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="nsm">{{cite web|last=Buchan|first=Alex|date=23 April 1999|title=Miracles in the Midst of Massacres|url=http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb&view=v&id=3782&fto=594&fby=108b70701edf23b3dc27e1a8688ec8a6&|publisher=Compass Direct via The Network for Strategic Missions|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> had been taking part in a 3-day Bible camp on the grounds of a [[University of Pattimura]] research station near Hila, when six were killed in an apparent attack by people from the nearby Muslim village of Wakal.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" />
 
Two men from the group were murdered, and their van torched, while travelling through Wakal town after seeking assistance from the military in Hila village to transport the campers.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" /> Soon after, a truckload of militants arrived at the camp ground and ordered the campers out of the rooms where they had taken shelter, 4 of those who emerged were murdered with machetes,<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" /> 3 adults and an adolescent boy according to some sources.<ref name="ambonup" /> The boy is often referred to as Roy Pontoh,<ref name="ambonup" /><ref name="cox" /><ref name="nsm" /> a 15-year-old Ambonese Christian who is described as having stood up to the militants when asked to renounce his faith and was subsequently murdered with a machete and his body placed in a ditch.<ref name="nsm" /><ref>Workers of Open Doors, a Christian organisation, claim to have interviewed a friend of Roy Pontoh who described the murder of the boy. This account has been reprinted in Cox's 2006 book and on Christian blogs, [http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fOF21_klJnM/SdvhB5eM_EI/AAAAAAAAAOU/r1M3PE43oWY/s400/Roy_Pontoh_2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jonatasvidal.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/page/2/&h=400&w=228&sz=16&tbnid=rziqhYoc1fhbWM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=71&prev=/search%3Fq%3Droy%2Bpontoh%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=roy+pontoh&hl=en&usg=__djUebu7haORyA_TXFF10XIqzIZM=&sa=X&ei=wQWaTduRKMyGcfac3IwH&ved=0CEMQ9QEwBg a photo purported to be of Roy exists online].</ref> Other campers were abused, ordered into the main hall and robbed of their valuables.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala1" />
 
Despite the efforts by residents of both faiths to prevent an assault, the following day Hila village proper was allegedly attacked by a Wakal mob, who murdered one person and looted and torched numerous, mostly Christian, houses.<ref name="sala1" /> The [[Dutch East Indies|Dutch-built]] 18th century Immanuel Church in Hila was also destroyed by arson.<ref name="bbc1" />
 
==== 23 January murder of a Kostrad soldier in Benteng ====
In the first recorded confrontation of security forces and the rioting public several, reportedly Christian, rioters were shot and at least one killed following the stabbing murder of a [[Balinese people|Balinese]] member of the [[Kostrad]] Strategic Reserve Command in the coastal neighbourhoods of [[Benteng (city)|Benteng]],<ref name="con" /><ref name="lodi" /> though the order of events is disputed.<ref name="bbc0" /> Eleven youths, all Christian, were later charged with murder.<ref name="con" />
 
Allegedly the soldiers had been intervening in a confrontation of [[Bugis]] and [[Ambonese]] Christian youths, however people on the Christian side felt the authorities were being overly forceful with the Christian fighters and lashed out at the Kostrad troops, killing Gusti Ngurah Hartawan.<ref name="con" /> In defence, the soldiers opened fire on the crowd, killing one or possibly two.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc0" /> Media reports describe a gathering of 200 people marching on the Police headquarters in Ambon in protest.<ref name="lodi" />
 
The same day, after the carnage in Ambon, security forces were given orders to shoot on sight any potential troublemakers,<ref name="bbc5">{{cite news|date=23 January 1999|title=Indonesian police to shoot on sight|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/indonesia/latest_news/261321.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> though their use of these powers in several instances called into question whether the new police powers were being abused, or if officers were acting impartially in the conflict.<ref name="bert4" /><ref name="van Klinken 2007 179">{{harvnb|van Klinken|2007|p=179}}</ref>
 
Accusations of police collusion with Muslim fighters were common, and five Muslim residents hiding in a military transport vehicle the day before had been killed after they were allegedly found to be concealing weapons.<ref name="bbc5" /> Media publication, ''[[Tempo (Indonesian magazine)|Tempo]]'', suggested the murders were motivated by revenge for the death of a [[Minister (Christianity)|Protestant minister]] in Nania.<ref name="tempo1" />
 
At least 13 were also killed at the Christian village of Waai, Ambon Island, on 23 January after an attack by Muslim residents from Tulehu in a raid that mirrored traditional Ambonese inter-communal fighting.<ref name="waai">{{cite web|last=Littik|first=Semmy|title=The Battle of Waai and the Ambon Demo|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enWaai%20War.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The Muslims are alleged to have declared ''[[jihad]]'' against the rival Christian village after the displacement of Muslim [[Buton|Butonese]] to Tulehu, and raided the Waai township with fishing bombs among other weapons.<ref name="bert2" /><ref name="waai" /> Waai authorities counted the deaths of 2 locals and a visitor and killed a further 10 Muslim aggressors in the defense of the town, a number supported by Muslim sources, who claim more Christians were killed.<ref name="con" /><ref name="waai" /> Significant tourist infrastructure was also destroyed.
 
==== Respite and resumption of fighting in Ambon ====
After the initial [[rioting]] there were several weeks or so of respite from wide scale violence, attributed in part to the deployment of 3,000 more troops, most of whom were from outside Maluku province.<ref name="bbc5" /> Road blocks had been established by their respective factions around villages in Ambon, preventing several possible clashes but also causing transport limitations and food shortages.<ref name="bert2" /><ref name="bbc1" /> Large numbers of displaced people had taken refuge at military installations<ref name="bbc3" /> and there were even reports of Muslims praying at an Ambon mosque guarded by Christians.<ref name="tempo1" />
 
Fighting again resumed in Ambon City on the morning of 23 February following a minor confrontation, the nature of which is disputed.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bert2" /> It is generally agreed that a Muslim mob formed after the confrontation and was countered by the rapid formation of a rival Christian mob, with each causing damage to property and houses owned by those of the opposing faith.<ref name="con" /> In these early stages of fighting one person is reported to have been killed by security forces and several bombs detonated.<ref name="con" />
 
The fighting became more virulent with the reported murder of 5 Butonese passengers of a van near the state Islamic institute by a Christian mob, and a further 8 people were killed in Karang Panjang and Kramat Jaya as homes and a mosque were set alight.<ref name="con" /> Some sources reported up to 23 killed during the day of fighting, mostly Butonese migrants, and several deaths were caused by the actions of security forces.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bert2" /><ref name="bbc6" />
 
==== March confrontations ====
On 1 March mobs from the rival faiths confronted each other again and a mob of Ahuru Christians attacked the mostly Bugis and Butonese Rinjani neighborhood, killing a family of 5.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc7">{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Simon|author2=Jonathan Head|date=1 March 1999|title=New riots rock Ambon|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/288152.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="tempo3">{{cite news|last=Taufik|first=Ahmad|author2=Dewi R. Cahyani|author3=Nurur R. Bintari|date=9 March 1999|title=Setelah Subuh Berdarah Menyalakan Kemarahan Umat (in Indonesian)|url=http://majalah.tempointeraktif.com/id/arsip/1999/03/09/LK/mbm.19990309.LK93852.id.html|newspaper=Tempo|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The clashes had restarted as people reacted to incorrect reports that 4 others had been shot inside a mosque by police; 3 Muslims had in fact been killed by security forces in surrounding neighborhoods and brought to the mosque, draped in white sheets.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc7" />
 
Two more incidents of security force intervention with live ammunition occurred on 6 and 10 February respectively. In the first instance police opened fire on a crowd of Christian youths manning a [[Security checkpoint|checkpoint]] by Silo church, killing one. The plain-clothes police officers had refused to show [[Identity card|identification]] when their vehicles were stopped, and shot at the crowd around the barricade when attacked with home-made weapons.<ref name="con" /> The second intervention happened during another round of clashes by youths armed with petrol bombs and machetes around Batu Merah and Mardika.<ref name="bert5" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Rijanto|first=Hendry|title=Ambon, March 11, 1999 (in English)|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enAmbonMarch11.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> Ten were killed and 30 seriously injured, and almost all the [[casualties]] were caused by the police firing into the unruly crowds.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc8">{{cite news|last=Head|first=Jonathan|date=11 March 1999|title=Ten dead in Ambon violence|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/294745.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="newstrait">{{cite news|date=11 March 1999|title=Ambon city a battle ground|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YqJOAAAAIBAJ&pg=2010,6257216&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=Reuters|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref>
 
=== Start of violence on surrounding islands ===
Violence had been restrained on surrounding islands despite the fiery deaths of two in [[Sanana Island]] riots on the same day as the Ambon rioting.<ref name="lodi" /> A clash did take place on [[Seram Island|Ceram]] after a misunderstanding during a peace initiative by Christians, which saw at least 7 injured and several Muslim houses and market stalls destroyed on 3 February.<ref name="bert" /> The next day several dozen houses were burnt in a Christian village in Kairatu, while on 5 February, Christian residents of Kamariang attacked another Muslim village, prompting the police to open fire<ref name="bbc3" /><ref name="sala3" /> and kill one youth.<ref name="con" />
 
==== 14 February Haruku Island shootings ====
The largest loss of life at the hands of security forces at that stage in the conflict occurred in Kariu on the island of Haruku, when military units used live ammunition to quell a clash between a groups of Christian residents and Muslims from surrounding villages, reportedly killing 23.<ref name="bert" /><ref name="sala3" /><ref name="bbc4">{{cite news|date=14 February 1999|title=More die in Indonesian riots|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/279592.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="tempo2">{{cite news|date=23 February 1999|title=Haruku Rusuh, Saparua Remuk (in Indonesian)|url=http://majalah.tempointeraktif.com/id/arsip/1999/02/23/PST/mbm.19990223.PST93659.id.html|newspaper=Tempo|access-date=2 April 2011}}</ref> Accounts differ as to how many died on either side and the total number of dead from the shooting and confrontation may have been around 30, including 4 elderly residents who attempted to flee to the forest to escape the complete destruction of Kariu and the town's main church by the Muslim mob.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bert" /><ref name="sala3" />
 
The failure of the military to prevent the destruction of Kariu and the arrest of four Christian police officers falsely accused of firing into the crowd of Muslim aggressors, furthered the belief that the military were [[Bias|biased]] towards the Muslim militias.<ref name="con" /><ref name="bbc5" /><ref name="van Klinken 2007 179" /> The island was subsequently blockaded by the [[Indonesian Navy|Navy]] to prevent movement of possible provocateurs.<ref name="tempo2" />
 
==== 23 February Saparua Island clashes ====
Two large clashes during the night claimed the lives of around 10 fighters, with several deaths attributed to the actions of security forces.<ref name="con" /> In the first case Christian [[youths]] were alleged to have provoked Muslim residents of Sirisori to retaliate, claiming 9 lives. The second clash was between two Saparua villages of rival [[faith]] and it is disputed as to whether 3 were killed by security forces or the traditional weapons of the civilian fighters, though it was recorded by ''[[Republika (Indonesian newspaper)|Republika]]'' newspaper that a few automatic weapons were recovered from fighters and one mosque destroyed.<ref name="con" /><ref name="sala3" /> Another confrontation over the damaging of [[Cloves|clove plants]] happened in Sirisori in July that year, also, killing 6.<ref name="bert5" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Saparua Rusuh, Ambon Tegang (in Indonesian)|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/idSaparuaRusuhAmbonTegang.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref>
 
==== April Kei Island clashes ====
Another altercation between youths concerning an 'insult to Islam' on 27 March<ref name="lindsey135">{{harvnb|Lindsey|2008|pp=135–136}}</ref> is alleged to have started wide scale violence on the [[Kei Islands]], south east of Ambon, that claimed up to 80 lives during the first weeks of April, with particularly fierce fighting happening in the capital [[Tual, Indonesia|Tual]].<ref name="bert4" /><ref name="sono">{{cite news|last=Laksono|first=P.M.|date=April–June 2002|title=We are all one: how custom overcame religious rivalry in South East Maluku|url=http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-70/we-are-all-one|newspaper=Inside Indonesia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706062823/http://www.insideindonesia.org/edition-70/we-are-all-one|archive-date=6 July 2010|access-date=2 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bbc9">{{cite news|date=4 April 1999|title=New strife in Moluccas|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/311099.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="extranst">{{cite news|date=3 April 1999|title=Extra troops flown to riot-torn Maluku Islands|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RS1PAAAAIBAJ&pg=4918,2244504&dq=tual&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=AFP|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> In this case groups of [[Catholics]] faced Muslim [[Ambonese]], but the use of red and white to signify allegiance and wholesale destruction by fire of 30 or so mainly Muslim villages mirrored the riots in Ambon.<ref name="braith157">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=157}}</ref>
 
Fierce reprisal attacks were perpetrated by Muslim mobs against the Protestant town of Elaar Lamagorang on 3 April, claiming at least 36 lives in [[Kei Islands|Kei Kecil]].<ref name="lindsey135" /> Soldiers recovered 20 bodies from burnt out buildings in [[Kai Besar|Kei Besar]] and Christian sources reported several instances of alleged kidnapping, the massacre of a priest and children and the deaths of 37 Christians; the Muslim death toll was expected to be much higher with at least 24 killed in the Muslim coastal suburbs of [[Tual, Indonesia|Tual]] and significant attacks against Muslim villages in Kei Kecil.<ref name="lindsey135" /><ref name="braith157" /><ref>{{cite news|date=4 April 1999|title=As many as 31 dead|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H7MaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6733,492223&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Daily News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Atrocities Happen Again in Maluku|url=http://www.fica.org/hr/ambon/enRusuh2.html|work=Sala Foundation Waku Maluku report on Ambon, Maluku|publisher=Fellowship of Indonesian Christians in America|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> Approximately 200 [[Kei Island]] residents are estimated to have died in three months of fighting and the damage and destruction of at least 4,000 [[houses]] and businesses [[Internally displaced person|displaced]] about 30,000 civilians.<ref name="lindsey137">{{harvnb|Lindsey|2008|p=137}}</ref>
 
The undermanned security forces of the Keis faced logistical difficulties caring for the estimated 13,000 residents that sought refuge at military offices, and another 200 soldiers were deployed from Ambon.<ref name="extranst" /><ref>{{cite news|date=6 April 1999|title=Sixty dead in Indonesian holy war|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qepEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4582,384341&hl=en|newspaper=Daily Union|agency=Associated Press|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The tripling of troop numbers is cited as helping bring the conflict on the [[Kei Islands]] to an early end, alongside the actions of elders to promote local ''[[adat]]'' custom.<ref name="sono" /><ref name="braith157171">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|pp=157, 171}}</ref> The violence on the Kei islands was later attributed, in part, to [[youths]] and others disregarding the ''adat'' teachings of local elders.<ref name="lindsey137" />
 
=== Second Ambon riots ===
On 16 May a gathering of locals from both faiths to celebrate the Moluccan hero, [[Pattimura]], had quickly progressed into a dispute over who was to carry a ceremonial torch, an honor normally reserved for residents from a majority Muslim village that had been offered to Christian villagers as a sign of good-will.<ref name="bert5" /> A clash between the groups soon followed, and the security forces opened fire on the crowds when they began damaging property again. At least 7 were killed.<ref name="bbc11">{{cite news|date=16 May 1999|title=Ambon tense after riot deaths|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/345241.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref>
 
The torch ceremony was also being used that year to inaugurate a new security force, the Pattimura military command, which would oversee the Maluku province; the event only served to humiliate the military, who were attacked with missiles by both sides after the intervention with live ammunition.<ref name="bert5" /><ref name="bbc11" /> The dispute happened days after a peace deal was agreed upon by local leaders of the two faiths,<ref name="bbc11" /> and it was therefore clear that the resentment and violence could not be contained by the formalities of an authority distrusted on both sides after the role of security forces in so many deaths.<ref name="bert5" />
 
==== July and August chaos ====
After a clash of drunken youths in the middle-class Poka suburb of Ambon on 23 July and subsequent heavy handed military intervention,<ref name="braith154">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=154}}</ref> fighting intensified to a war-like scale and lead to the deaths of at least a further 34 in the first four days alone, with Ambon hospitals reporting a shortage of blood for transfusion.<ref name="nstjuly">{{cite news|date=28 July 1999|title=Violence in Indonesian provinces escalates|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EvdOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6602,4748345&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="nstgalala">{{cite news|date=14 August 1999|title=Probe into Ambon church massacre by men in uniform|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KKNOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6528,4879338&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=AFP|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The mostly [[Chinese Indonesians|Chinese-owned]] [[business district]], which had largely been spared up until that point, was [[Sinophobia|targeted]] and destroyed by arson<ref name="braith189">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=189}}</ref> and the largest shopping complex in Ambon left entirely gutted.<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="bbc20">{{cite news|date=27 July 1999|title=Ambon violence flares again|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/405258.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> In addition, many hundreds of homes and thousands of vehicles were destroyed by arson.<ref name="vanambon" /> On 27 July, three members of a rioting Muslim crowd were killed by police directly outside the Al-Fatah mosque,<ref name="manilajuly">{{cite news|date=28 July 1999|title=3 dead, 25 hurt in Ambon clashes|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kmYVAAAAIBAJ&pg=2777,3283403&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=Manila Standard|agency=Associated Press|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> however few instances of intervention with live fire by security forces were recorded with concrete details. Most agree troops fired directly into the warring crowds, and the Catholic diocese of Ambon officially announced a lack of confidence in the military forces, who it said were supporting the Muslim gangs.<ref name="manilajuly" />
 
The first large-scale massacre of civilians in a house of worship, as would become common in the conflict, was perpetrated by uniformed gunmen on 12 August against local residents taking refuge in a Galala church.<ref name="indy">{{cite news|last=Parry|first=Richard Lloyd|date=13 August 1999|title=Troops 'killed 24 in church'|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/troops-killed-24-in-church-1112386.html|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref> The residents were allegedly locked in the Yabok church and fired on by people wearing uniforms of [[Kostrad|an elite special forces unit]], killing around 25 unarmed civilians, including a priest and children, and the bodies were later burned by a Muslim mob.<ref name="nstgalala" /><ref name="bbcgalala">{{cite news|date=12 August 1999|title=Army blamed for Ambon massacre|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/418703.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref>
 
Fighting in Galala had been particularly fierce, claiming another 14 lives in addition to those massacred,<ref name="indy" /> however the majority of fighting had been in [[Ambon, Maluku|Ambon City]] around the Al-Fatah mosque and nearby Maranatha Church, where the city had split into Christian and Muslim enclaves.<ref name="vanambon" /><ref name="braith157" /> At least a further 98 had died during early and mid August,<ref name="nstgalala" /><ref>{{cite news|date=14 August 1999|title=Death toll increases to 98 in renewed Ambon violence|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/08/14/death-toll-increases-98-renewed-ambon-violence.html|newspaper=Jakarta Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009161828/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/08/14/death-toll-increases-98-renewed-ambon-violence.html|archive-date=9 October 2012|access-date=15 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> including all civilians murdered in Galala and 15 killed in Batu Merah on 10 August,<ref>{{cite news|date=11 August 1999|title=At least 15 killed in Ambon clash|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/08/11/at-least-15-killed-ambon-clash.html|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009161846/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/1999/08/11/at-least-15-killed-ambon-clash.html|archive-date=9 October 2012|access-date=15 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> however the deployment of one [[Marines (military)|Marine]] and two Army [[Battalion|battalions]] to [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]] allowed for some calm to return by 16 August.<ref>{{cite news|date=16 August 1999|title=Indonesia now calm|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-XpAAAAAIBAJ&pg=4193,5131107&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=The Mount Airy News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=3 April 2011}}</ref>
 
Small war-like battles between well organised gangs of the rival faiths took place on a daily basis during late August and September, claiming more lives, including one soldier and at least 8 gang members who had been attacking a church on 10 September.<ref>{{cite news|date=10 September 1999|title=Datelines; Indonesia|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2-wjAAAAIBAJ&pg=5319,4322868&dq=maluku&hl=en|newspaper=The Deseret News|access-date=4 April 2011}}</ref> In the period between the first riots in Ambon and September 1999, humanitarian organisation ''[[Kontras]]'' estimated 1,349 had died in communal fighting<ref name="vanambon" /> and that tens of thousands had been displaced to ad hoc refugee centres or other provinces.
 
=== Third Ambon riots ===
During the final quarter of 1999 there had been several large confrontations in the suburbs of [[Ambon City]], the largest claiming 38 lives on 26 November, again around the [[districts]] of Mardika.<ref>{{cite news|date=29 November 1999|title=One dead, 26 injured as new clashes hit Ambon|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vlRIAAAAIBAJ&pg=3949,6460001&dq=ambon&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=AFP|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Most of the casualties the result of [[Bullet wound|bullet wounds]] caused by [[firearms]] that only the security forces had access to and, in response, three [[Battalion|battalions]] of military forces were to be withdrawn from [[Maluku Islands|Maluku]] that December and replaced with others that were believed to be not as potentially [[Bias|biased]].<ref name="bbcwithdrawal">{{cite news|date=30 November 1999|title=Indonesia withdraws troops from Moluccas|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/543530.stm|newspaper=BBC Online|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> On 7 December, the governor of Maluku announced aloud the ''Declaration of Refraining from Violence and Ending the Conflict'', signed by senior leaders of all faiths, however no Moluccan religious leaders signed or were party to the [[Draft (politics)|drafting]] of the [[document]].<ref>{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=170}}</ref>
 
Massive riots again ignited in Ambon City and surrounding districts on 26 December, and lasted many days, following reports that a 14-year-old Muslim pedestrian was struck by a Christian driver.<ref>{{cite news|date=29 December 1999|title=55 Are Killed in Religious Clashes in Indonesia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/29/world/55-are-killed-in-religious-clashes-in-indonesia.html?src=pm|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> The intense fighting heralded the widespread use of firearms and home-made bombs by civilian gangs, and claimed at least 68 lives and caused the destruction of the symbolic Silo Church in Ambon City on 26 December.<ref name="icgmaluku">{{cite web|date=19 December 2000|title=Indonesia: Chaos and murder in Maluku|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:uj8YEfRJcqoJ:kms1.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/28310/ipublicationdocument_singledocument/07d0d94d-a633-404b-88ff-dbb92ff7be37/en/010_indonesia_murder_maluku.pdf+icg+asia+report+no.10&hl=en&gl=au&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESj9AVpNBi1jCpCunT5YnYIbqaea_KKIFvbItoK654ZbYZ9wq6bugDH-5AKjqGjsgX211OYzQLTkOvyRnLNkkCeuAyth4YBqZZf63cLp5o1nkcIKgjwXz--B66-B6XQJfxAwPdGl&sig=AHIEtbS7CNEd-OgTqeMWcChocJGzJtAw1w|work=Asia Report No. 10|publisher=International Crisis Group|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="pdi600">{{cite news|date=5 January 2000|title=Death toll in sect clashes rises to 600|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7oc1AAAAIBAJ&pg=2037,22455718&dq=halmahera&hl=en|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|agency=AFP|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Unverified Christian sources state the Silo Church was attacked during a night prayer session by Muslim militants and the security forces were [[complicit]] with the attackers; 39 Christians defending the building suffered bullet wounds, mostly from military weapons, and a local [[fire engine]] that had arrived to save the structure was fired upon also.<ref>{{cite web|date=7 January 2000|title=Eyewitness Report of Atrocities in Ambon: Thousands Fleeing to Mountains for Safety|url=http://www.domini.org/openbook/ind20000107.htm|work=Project Open Book|publisher=The Domini Project|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref>
 
The December confrontations saw the first specific targeting of security forces personnel, claiming the lives of at least 3 members.<ref name="nstsniper">{{cite news|date=31 December 1999|title=More than 300 killed in Moluccas|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x-BOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6605,5655429&dq=halmahera&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Sustained sniper fire was recorded originating from buildings nearby the demarcation line separating the two communities in [[Ambon City]] and buildings in the commercial district were shelled by [[Alvis Saladin|Saladin-class armored vehicles]] of the [[Indonesian Army]] to suppress the sniper fire.<ref name="nstsniper" /> Further sniper fire targeting ships ferrying displaced people across Ambon Bay to [[Pattimura Airport]] was also reported,<ref name="nstsniper" /> while other witnesses described security forces both launching [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar attacks]] and sustained fire with [[automatic weapons]] against specific suburbs in Ambon City, mostly by individual troops acting in a partisan manner.<ref name="icgmaluku" /> Some of the sniper fire has been attributed to Christian [[Brigade Mobil (Indonesia)|Brimob]] personnel, angered by the destruction of the Silo church, attacking Muslim targets.<ref name="icgambon04">{{cite web|date=17 May 2004|title=Indonesia: Violence erupts once again in Ambon|url=http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpDocuments)/F1BCD5B35EF6BB03802570B7005942C1/$file/indonesia_violence_erupts_again_in_ambon.pdf|work=Asia briefing: Jakarta/Brussels|publisher=International Crisis Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501232115/http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004CE90B/(httpDocuments)/F1BCD5B35EF6BB03802570B7005942C1/$file/indonesia_violence_erupts_again_in_ambon.pdf|archive-date=1 May 2011|access-date=11 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
Responsibility for security in [[Maluku (province)|Maluku]] province was officially given to the [[Indonesian military]] on 29 December 1999, allowing for the army to conduct broader searches and apprehend suspects.<ref name="pdi600" />
 
==== Violence on Seram and Buru Islands ====
Up to 42 people were killed on neighbouring [[Seram Island]] over three days during a raid by Muslim militias on the predominantly Christian town of Alang Asaudi on 3 December, and government forces were criticized for not preventing such a high number of casualties.<ref>{{cite news|date=6 December 1999|title=Maluku clashes leave 31 dead|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a_1OAAAAIBAJ&pg=6792,4086231&dq=seram&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=AFP|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> On 4 January 2000, at least 17 were killed by live ammunition as police opened fire on clashing mobs in Masohi, a port town on Ceram Island, where several hundred houses were also destroyed by arson. A significant number of units were transferred from Ambon the weeks prior to contain the violence, but were largely ineffective in preventing further attacks on property.<ref name="nytseram">{{cite news|date=5 January 2000|title=Troops Kill 17 in Indonesia As Christians Fight Muslims|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10810FB3D5F0C768CDDA80894D8404482|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref>
 
[[Buru Island]] saw a period of extreme violence between rival groups around Christmas and [[Ramadan]], claiming at least 43 lives on 23 December alone.<ref name="nstburu">{{cite news|date=24 December 1999|title=Carnage on Buru Island as mobs ignore police plea|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=weBOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6453,1954056&dq=buru&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=Associated Press|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> A total of 165 are believed to have been killed over several weeks,<ref name="pdi600" /> including 117 Christians,<ref name="braith156" /> and around 250 houses were destroyed by arson during island-wide fighting started by a scuffle outside a [[plywood]] factory.<ref name="indyireland">{{cite news|last=Dutter|first=Barbie|date=28 December 1999|title=Over 160 killed as violence hits Spice Islands|url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/over-160-killed-as-violence-hits-spice-islands-388743.html|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Intervention by [[security forces]] during the violence on the island was initially minimal<ref name="nstburu" /> and significant number of Buru residents were reported missing in the weeks after the December violence, most taking refuge in the densely forested interior of the island, and the Indonesian military distributed leaflets urging them to return to their villages.<ref>{{cite news|date=14 January 2000|title=Leaflet drop to coax refugees out of the jungle|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=elZIAAAAIBAJ&pg=6626,95826&dq=buru&hl=en|newspaper=New Straits Times|agency=Reuters|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Incidents of [[forced conversion]] and atrocities such as [[forced circumcision]] and the murder of entire families who resisted conversion caused the almost complete displacement of the Christian population of [[Buru]] by mid-2000, following the destruction of 17 [[Catholic]] and an unknown number of Protestant churches.<ref name="braith156" />
 
Following the Malino agreement, bombing attacks with more powerful explosives became more common in Maluku province. Two of the more significant attacks included the detonation of an [[improvised explosive device]] at a stadium in Ambon City that claimed the lives of 4 young women on 4 September 2002,<ref>{{cite news|date=6 September 2002|title=Death toll from explosion in Indonesia's Ambon rises to four|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/06/content_552416.htm|newspaper=Xinhua Online|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030119033933/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-09/06/content_552416.htm|archive-date=19 January 2003|access-date=15 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the detonation of a bomb that had been thrown into a crowd gathered outside an Ambon City hotel and [[karaoke bar]], which killed 4 and wounded 58, on 3 April 2002.<ref>{{cite news|date=5 April 2002|title=Three suspects named in Ambon bombing|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2002/04/05/three-suspects-named-ambon-bombing.html|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009161900/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2002/04/05/three-suspects-named-ambon-bombing.html|archive-date=9 October 2012|access-date=15 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
== Timeline konflik di Maluku Utara ==
 
=== Konfrontasi awal ===
Sebagian besar wilayah Maluku Utara damai hingga tanggal 18 Agustus 1999, ketika peresmian kecamatan Malifut yang baru memicu penghancuran dua desa penganut agama campuran Pagu pada hari yang sama. Beberapa orang terbunuh ketika penduduk Kao dari kedua agama dan migran Muslim Makian bertempur selama tiga hari, dan sebagian besar sumber menyatakan bahwa kekerasan dimulai dengan invasi ke Sosol, salah satu dari dua desa yang dihancurkan oleh geng Makian. Sebuah tim pemimpin ditugaskan untuk mengamankan perdamaian oleh pemerintah daerah, namun tidak ada perubahan yang dilakukan terhadap keputusan pemekaran dan ketegangan masih terjadi.<ref name="braith200">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|pp=200–201}}</ref>
 
==== Serangan lebih lanjut di Malifut ====
Pada tanggal 24 Oktober, orang Makian diduga menyerang lagi lebih jauh ke wilayah Kao, meskipun hal ini dibantah oleh beberapa orang Makian, dan sebagai serangan balik, gerakan Kao yang berkekuatan 5.000 orang membakar 16 desa Makian di subdistrik Malifut yang diperebutkan. Kao yang beragama campuran menekankan sifat non-religius dari kedua pertempuran tersebut dan mengambil kebebasan untuk menghindari penodaan masjid atau sekolah mana pun; hanya 3 orang yang tewas dalam pertempuran tersebut, namun terjadi kerusakan besar-besaran terhadap harta benda masyarakat Makian dan sebanyak 16.000 warga Makian, hampir seluruhnya berada di kecamatan tersebut, mengungsi ke Ternate dan daerah lainnya.<ref name="north2" /><ref name="sidelternate2" /><ref name="braith200" /><ref name="digatlas">{{cite web|last=Cribb|first=Robert|title=Scenes of religious conflict in northern Halmahera|url=http://www.indonesianhistory.info/map/halmut.html|work=Digital atlas of Indonesian history|access-date=4 April 2011}}</ref>
 
==== Kerusuhan November di Tidore dan Ternate ====
Sejumlah besar pengungsi Makian juga melarikan diri ke Tidore, sebuah pulau dengan mayoritas penduduk Muslim. Pada minggu-minggu berikutnya, sebuah surat palsu yang merinci rencana pemindahan paksa warga Makian dari Halmahera dengan dugaan masukan dari lembaga Protestan setempat disebarkan ke komunitas Muslim di Ternate dan Tidore, sehingga memicu ketegangan dan menekan pejabat lokal untuk meminta penjelasan dari para pemimpin Kristen. Kalau dipikir-pikir, dokumen tersebut merupakan tindakan provokasi terang-terangan yang mungkin dilakukan oleh para birokrat Makian, namun pada tanggal 3 November Pendeta Riskotta dibunuh dengan kejam oleh massa Muslim di Tidore saat menghadiri pertemuan untuk membahas kekhawatiran dengan para pejabat, dan diantar ke sana oleh polisi. Tidak ada pemimpin Kristen lainnya yang hadir karena takut akan keselamatan mereka, dan segera setelah pembunuhan Pendeta, massa yang berkumpul menyerang umat Kristen setempat dan harta bendanya, menewaskan 8 orang lagi, dan membakar 3 gereja dan sekitar 260 rumah dalam kerusuhan di seluruh pulau. Pada tanggal 6 November, sebuah geng Muslim yang berjumlah beberapa ratus orang, dipimpin oleh elit politik lokal Makian dan dianggap sebagian besar adalah pengungsi Makian, mengamuk di Ternate dan juga menyerang minoritas Kristen di sana. Pasukan kepolisian Ternate hanya mampu menjaga institusi mereka sendiri dari serangan, namun pengawal tradisional Sultan Ternate, yang sebagian besar terdiri dari Muslim Ternate setempat, sangat efektif dalam melindungi penduduk Kristen setempat dari serangan. Pengawal Sultan telah membangun garis pertahanan yang aman di sekitar wilayah kota, termasuk kawasan bisnis yang sebagian besar dimiliki oleh orang Tionghoa, dan secara fisik berdiri di antara massa dan korban dalam beberapa kasus dan kemudian dipuji karena mencegah potensi pembantaian. Namun setidaknya 4 orang tewas, dan TNI Angkatan Laut kemudian mengevakuasi beberapa ribu warga Kristen di kedua pulau tersebut ke Bintung dan Manado di Sulawesi Utara.
 
==== Ketegangan di Halmahera tengah ====
Beberapa hari setelah kerusuhan Ternate, para provokator Muslim diduga melancarkan serangan terhadap warga sipil Kristen di sub-distrik Payahe dan Gane Barat, keduanya merupakan rumah bagi populasi besar warga Makian. Ada korban umat Kristen di desa Lola, termasuk kematian seorang pendeta. Beberapa ribu warga mengungsi ke Tobelo di Halmahera utara. Penargetan gereja-gereja untuk dirusak dan rumor bahwa sejumlah anak-anak dibunuh oleh para pejuang Makian, serta gambaran ketidakmampuan aparat keamanan melindungi umat Kristen setempat di Tidore dan Ternate, mendorong warga Halmahera untuk membuat senjata rakitan untuk membela diri. Ketidakpercayaan umat Kristiani sebagian besar ditujukan pada migran Makian dan Ternate di Tobelo, seperti yang diungkapkan kepada delegasi politik termasuk Sultan Ternate dan gubernur sementara yang dikirim ke Tobelo pada tanggal 7 Desember, namun rumor tentang "Natal berdarah" atau "Ramadhan berdarah" upaya untuk membersihkan kelompok agama yang berlawanan di Halmahera tersebar di kedua komunitas dan meningkatkan perasaan bahwa kekerasan lebih lanjut tidak dapat dihindari.
 
=== Kekerasan pasca Natal di Halmahera ===
 
* 26 Desember 1999: Bentrokan antara kelompok Kristen dan Islam di Gosoma, Tobelo, memicu gelombang kekerasan di wilayah tersebut. Umat ​​Islam mengungsi dari Tobelo ke Soasio, sedangkan umat Kristen mengungsi di gereja GMIH.
* 27 Desember 1999: Massa Muslim menyerang gereja GMIH dan desa Kristen di Pune. Orang-orang bersenjata dari kedua belah pihak berkumpul di dekat masjid dan gereja di Soatobaru dan Dokulamo. Ledakan bazoka buatan sendiri memicu kerusuhan di Soatobaru pada sore hari. Kekerasan meletus di Tobelo, kota terbesar di Halmahera Utara, antara umat Islam dan Kristen. Milisi Muslim, yang dikenal sebagai Pasukan Merah, menyerang desa-desa dan pinggiran kota Kristen, sementara milisi Kristen, yang dipimpin oleh Sakeus Odara, melakukan serangan balik dan menghancurkan properti Muslim. Keesokan paginya, sebagian besar umat Islam di Tobelo mundur ke masjid utama, Mesjid Raya, yang dikepung oleh militer dan dilindungi dari penyerang Kristen.
* 28 Desember 1999: Di Ternate, ibu kota provinsi Maluku Utara, sebuah insiden kecil yang melibatkan seorang pengemudi mobil dan anggota Pasukan Kuning, sebuah milisi Muslim pro-Kesultanan, meningkat menjadi bentrokan kekerasan antara Muslim dan Kristen di wilayah tersebut. pusat kota. Pasukan Kuning didukung oleh Makians dan Tidores, sedangkan Kristen bergabung dengan milisi baru yang disebut Pasukan Putih (Pasukan Putih). Pasukan Putih berhasil mendorong Pasukan Kuning kembali ke istana Sultan, dimana gencatan senjata ditengahi oleh Sultan Tidore. Sebuah sekolah Katolik dibakar selama pertempuran.
* 29 Desember 1999: Milisi Kristen melanjutkan serangan mereka di Halmahera Utara, menargetkan desa-desa Muslim di Gorua dan Papilo. Mereka juga melancarkan serangan terkoordinasi ke Togoliua, tempat banyak umat Islam mengungsi di masjid Mesjid Al Islah. Masjid tersebut dibom dan runtuh, menewaskan banyak warga sipil di dalamnya.
* Januari 2000: Sultan Tidore dicopot dari jabatan gubernur Maluku Utara. Milisi Pasukan Putih mengubah namanya menjadi Pasukan Jihad dan merekrut ribuan pejuang dari Ternate dan Tidore, di bawah pimpinan Abu Bakar Wahid. Mereka berencana melancarkan serangan besar-besaran terhadap wilayah Kristen di Halmahera Utara.
* 8 Januari 2000: Pasukan Jihad meninggalkan Tidore menuju Sidangoli, sebuah kota pesisir di Halmahera Utara. Mereka mendapat perlawanan dari masyarakat Kao, kelompok etnis Kristen, yang melakukan mobilisasi di desa Dum Dum.
* 22 Januari 2000: Pasukan Jihad dan Kao bentrok di kawasan Tabobo, sebelah barat Malifut. Pasukan Jihad menang.
* Februari-Maret 2000: Pasukan Jihad dan umat Kristiani sering terlibat pertempuran kecil di kecamatan Galela dan Jailolo. Pasukan Jihad menerima bala bantuan dari Ternate dan Tidore, sedangkan pasukan Kristen mengandalkan milisi lokal dan sejumlah dukungan militer.
* 5 Maret 2000: Pasukan Jihad menyerang desa Makete dan Soatobaru, namun berhasil dihalau oleh milisi Duma, sebuah kelompok Kristen dari Galela.
* 25 Mei 2000: Pasukan Jihad menyerang Mamua, sebuah desa Kristen dekat Tobelo, namun kembali berhasil dihalau oleh milisi Duma.
* 29 Mei 2000: Pasukan Jihad melancarkan serangan terakhir ke Duma, namun gagal menangkapnya.
* Juni 2000: Pasukan Jihad merebut Duma. Pemerintah mengumumkan keadaan darurat yang mengakhiri pertempuran.
 
== Dampak konflik ==
 
=== Tentara anak-anak ===
Selama konflik, beberapa ribu tentara anak bertempur, secara tidak resmi, dalam milisi sipil kedua belah pihak; sejumlah besar anak-anak yang ikut berperang menjadi yatim piatu atau terlantar akibat pertempuran sebelumnya, dan merasa berkewajiban untuk mengangkat senjata dengan sukarela untuk melindungi atau membalaskan dendam keluarga dan agama mereka..<ref name="braith158">{{harvnb|Braithwaite|Dunn|2010|p=158}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Singer|first=P. W.|title=Child Soldiers: The New Faces of War|url=http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/winter0506/singer.cfm|work=American Educator, Winter 05-06|publisher=American Federation of Teachers|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="lachild">{{cite news|last=Paddock|first=Richard C.|date=14 March 2001|title='My Job Is to Throw Bombs and Burn Houses,' Moluccan Boy Says|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/14/news/mn-37618|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Dalam bahasa sehari-hari disebut sebagai "''pasukan agas''" yang diambil dari nama lalat pasir, sekitar dua hingga empat ribu anak berusia tujuh tahun diyakini ikut ambil bagian dalam kekerasan tersebut, kebanyakan anak laki-laki yang bersenjatakan bom molotov dan diarahkan untuk membakar properti milik pihak lawan atau diberikan bom rakitan yang dilemparkan ke arah anggota milisi lawan dan pasukan keamanan.<ref name="lachild" /> Anak-anak yang lebih tua melakukan serangan bersenjata terhadap pasukan lawan atau sasaran sipil, sementara anak-anak sekolah dasar dan menengah membantu membuat senjata rakitan yang banyak digunakan pada tahun pertama konflik.<ref name="lachild" />
 
== Lihat pula ==
Diperoleh dari "https://wiki-indonesia.club/wiki/Konflik_sektarian_Maluku"