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entral Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Idham Azis has immediately taken the lead in the manhunt for Poso terrorist leader Santoso.

The most-wanted fugitive has reportedly abducted a number of residents in Lembah Napu in Poso regency, located some 200 kilometers from the provincial capital, Palu.

Idham said 300 police and Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel had been deployed to search for members of the armed civilian group led by Santoso.

The joint forces are also attempting to rescue a resident from Tamadue village believed to have been abducted by the Santoso gang on Dec. 27.

Idham said he could not estimate the duration of the manhunt and rescue operation because the area being searched was mountainous and forested.

'€œWe will certainly keep looking for them until we find them because they are enemies of the state,'€ said Idham.

The armed group earlier abducted three residents from Tamadue village, East Lore district, Poso regency.

One of the captives was killed, one was able to escape, while the other is still held captive.

Two residents of Sidoa village, who were also earlier in the Lembah Napu area, remain missing.

Both were hunting for wild boar in the jungle.

The three men believed to have been abducted by the Santoso gang have been identified as Harun Tobimbi of Tamadue village, and Obet Sabola and his uncle Yunus Penini of Sedoa village in East Lore district.

It has been learned that Obet and Yunus were hunting and looking for resin in the forest when they went missing.

After not returning home for three days, residents looked for the men in the area where they usually hunted, but found only the personal belongings of both victims scattered in the forest.

The residents also found the rotting carcass of their prey in the jungle and signs suggesting they were involved in a struggle.

Earlier, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said that the government should set a deadline to end violence as it been ongoing for a long time in Poso.

However, residents and the National Commission on Human Rights doubted that terrorism was a serious threat in the area.

From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, Poso was home to a sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians that claimed thousands of victims on both sides. Although the conflict officially ended with the signing of the Malino Accords in 2001 and 2002, the region remains a hotbed of terrorism.