Palu police chief's house attacked

A mob attacked Palu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ahmad Ramadhan's official residence on Jl. Balaikota in Palu, Central Sulawesi, at 10:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. Jakarta time) on Thursday.

A witness said around 10 unidentified people surrounded the house and attacked it from all sides.

The attack seemed only to cause damage to the roof; there were no casualties.

It is still unclear what prompted the attack.

Two officers, who were standing guard outside the house but were outnumbered by the assailants, were unable to do anything during the attack, the witness said.

Two teams of Palu Police officers were immediately deployed to the scene but by the time they arrived the attackers had fled, the witness added.

"A number of motorcyclists rode by the house at high speed, calling [the police chief] dirty names before they started to throw stones at his house," said the witness.

Ahmad confirmed the attack.

"It was young, drunken men riding three motorcycles who threw stones at my house," the Palu Police chief said. (mtq)