Banks, markets and shops reopened and residents resumed their daily routines. The Grand Tarakan mall, one of the biggest shopping centers in the city, also reopened.

Thousands of people who took shelter at military and police premises at the height of the conflict, which pitted locals and migrant Bugis, were streaming back home Thursday.

Police claimed they had brought the situation under control following clashes in which five people were killed and another six severely injured.

“We have signed a peace treaty,” Sabirin Sanyong, a representative for the native Tidung ethnic group, said. “We hope Tarakan will return to normal soon,” said Suddin, a Buginese.

Under the 10-point peace accord, the two ethnic groups agreed to jointly hold an Idul Fitri celebration. They called on the police to take perpetrators of the rioting to court and appeal to everybody to respect local traditions.

National Police chief assistant Insp. Gen. Sunarko, East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek, and East Kalimantan Police chief Insp. Gen. Mathius Salempang were present at the peace ceremony.

After signing the agreement, both groups handed over their weapons to the police.

On Wednesday evening, a number of tribal leaders from both sides signed a peace agreement at the VIP room at the Juwata Tarakan airport in Tarakan. “I declare that the conflict has ended. Cases of violence will be investigated by the police,” Awang said. Awang also said the government would provide assistance to repair damages caused by the conflict.

East Kalimantan Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Antonius Wisnu Sutirta said the police had arrested three people for inciting the riots.

The suspects were identified as Hatta, Burhanuddin and Baharudin — the Bugis who killed Abdullah Salim, a Tidung tribal leader, on Sunday. Four other slain victims were identified as Musyidul Armin, Bugut, Iwan and Syamsul, all Buginese, and have been flown back to their respective hometowns in South Sulawesi.

Despite the peace agreement, more people from South Sulawesi left Tarakan on Thursday. They were mostly women and children.

One of the migrants, Bada’, 55, said she had been asked by her relatives to return to the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar for her safety. Bada’ brought along her three daughters.

Another migrant, Taufik, 30, said in Makassar that he and his family would fly back to Tarakan when peace and order were fully restored.

Dozens of college students from Tarakan currently studying in Makassar rallied to call for peace. A number of native students also joined them. Together they appealed for both conflicting groups to end the violence.

In Jakarta, activists from the Peace Building Institute gathered to respond to the bloody riot.

Dany Yuda Saputra, the institute manager, said the clashes would have ended sooner had the police and military responded more promptly.

“The police and government officials moved too slowly while the violence was intensifying,” he said.

Dany also lamented the absence of an early response system to handle such violence. “Such a system would be able to detect any mass mobilization so that quick measures could be taken before clashes could break out,” he said.

Bagus BT. Saragih contributed to this story from Jakarta.

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