T

he worsening clash between two villages in South Lampung regency claimed at least six more lives on Monday after a violent clash on Sunday that had left three people killed, tempo.co reported.

However, Lampung Police spokeswoman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistyaningsih told Antara news agency that there was no additional fatalities from Sunday’s clash.

After discovering that three of their residents had been killed and 10 others injured during Sunday’s clash, Kalianda residents were enraged and decided to wage an even bigger attack on Way Panji district.

Some 2,000 officers from South Lampung Mobile Brigade and the Indonesian Military were deployed to tame the angry mob, including shooting tear gas but to no avail.

The mob, armed with sharp weapons and Molotov cocktails, broke the officers’ barricade and set fire to a military vehicle.

Tight security measures had been put in place to avoid further conflict after the incident, South Lampung Police Precint chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Tatar Nugroho said.

The situation at the site remained tense, security officers continued to evacuate women and children to Bandar Lampung and were also searching motorists for weapons.

Tatar explained that security officers, on guard at the incident site, consisted of 748 Army soldiers and Navy mariners and 400 Mobile Brigade members. “Security will be further strengthened with the deployment of 500 other police officers from Banten and National Police headquarters,” he said.

Tatar added that rumors are circulating that say the clash is a result of an ethnic conflict between the Lampung tribe and those from Java and Bali. “The clash was sparked by a trivial thing,” he said.

Specifically, rumors attribute the clash to a provocation between two girls from Agom village in Kalianda and a group of boys from Sidoreno village in Way Panji.

“In reality, the boys just wanted to help the two girls who fell from their motorcycle in an accident. There was an misunderstanding when the boys touched the bodies of the two girls because it was considered as sexual harassment,” Tatar said.

In response to this rumor residents of nearby villages in Kalianda district grouped together and attacked the Sidoreno village.

South Lampung Regent Rycko Menoza said he was still negotiating with Lampung, Bali and Java traditional figures to encourage the conflicting groups to be in peace.

“The role of the figures is crucial to prevent their followers from intensifying the clash,” Rycko said.

On Jan. 24, 2012, there was a clash between residents of Napal village and Kota Dalam village in Sidomulyo district. There were no fatalities but the clash damaged houses.

The clash sparked enmity between local Lampung people with mainly those from Bali.