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Indonesia fights head-hunters
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GANGS of head-hunting tribesmen armed with spears and machetes spread terror further through an Indonesian province of Borneo on Monday, forcing thousands more immigrants to flee the slaughter.
As the indigenous Dayaks rampaged unchecked through the streets of the provincial capital, Palangkaraya, on Monday, the Indonesian Government flew in aid and troops of the elite Strategic Command in a belated response to more than a week of savage attacks.
At least 25,000 refugees, mostly from the island of Madura, have fled from the Dayaks, who have beheaded and cut out the hearts of many of their victims.
The government claimed it had sent troops to Central Kalimantan province last week but there has been no sign of them as the slaughter and destruction has continued unchecked. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the security minister, is the only senior government figure to have visited the area.
He vowed to end the violence within three days. President Abdurrahman Wahid continued a two-week trip to the Middle East and Africa. In his absence, Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, issued a statement appealing for calm.
(SD-Agencies)
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