Two students were killed as students of Makassar State University’s (UNM) technical school and art and design school clashed in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Thursday.

The bodies of the dead, identified as Rizki Munandar and Haryanto from UNM’s automotive technical department, were taken to Bhayangkara Hospital for autopsy.

The students were stabbed to death after they visited their colleagues, wounded in an earlier brawl, at Haj Hospital.

The police had not identified Rizki’s and Haryanto’s killers as of Thursday night, although the assailants are thought to be art students at UNM.

The incident began when students from the schools clashed at 3 p.m. on Thursday, using sticks and stones, among other things.

Witnesses said that the victims were exiting Haj Hospital’s emergency room around 5:20 p.m. when they and their friends were blocked by students from the rival school. A brawl followed.

Four motorcycles parked at the campus were set ablaze during the mayhem, while the windows of classrooms in both schools were shattered.

Police were deployed and drove the students off campus to prevent additional clashes.

UNM rector assistant Heri Tahir said he did not know for certain why the students clashed on Thursday, believing it might be connected to an old grudge. “The two schools have long been involved in a series of clashes,” Heri said.

Heri expressed concern over the violence on campus, which he described as a place for students to study and expand their horizons.

Heri said the university administration would not tolerate violence on campus. “As soon as we find the perpetrators, we will expel them from campus directly. There is no tolerance at all,” he added.

The administration had also closed both schools for an indefinite period to allow the students a cooling off period.

At about the same time on Thursday, a clash between two groups of students also took place on the campus of the Veteran’s University of the Indonesian Republic (UVRI) at Antang, Makassar. However, no fatalities were reported.

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