Clashes leave six dead in Jakarta

A Red Cross spokesman at the site of Gaja Mada Avenue said five Christians from the island of Ambon had been killed in the fight and three more people had been admitted to a state hospital with stab wounds.

Another 15 people had been treated at the site for minor injuries, the spokesman said.

Only hours after calm was restored, another Christian, believed to be an Ambonese, was caught by a group of Muslims who later pushed him into a watching crowd of hundreds, yelling, 8220;Do whatever you want to him8221;.

The mobs 8212; some armed with sickles, bamboo sticks and swords 8212; started to hack at the Ambonese. He died at the hands of theangry mob as he tried to flee, one arm almost severed, an AFP photographer said.

Residents said the row had erupted when Muslims in a nearby mosque demanded that a gambling hall, where some of the Christians from Ambon worked, be closed down during overnight Muslim services.

Last week, as many as 16 people were killed in clashes between anti-government students and police and soldiers during a government assembly on political reforms. That fighting triggered mob riots in several parts of Jakarta.

Residents said they burned the church and gambling hall in retaliation after a group of Ambonese attacked a mosque early Sunday morning. 8220;Islam is the power in this area,8221; one man said.