T

he National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) have agreed to cooperate to resolve a case involving the death of a TNI member during a clash in Polewali Mandar regency, West Sulawesi, according to Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

Luhut on Monday described the clash as a '€œminor'€ incident and called on all involved to refrain from any action that could inflame the situation.

'€œIt has been resolved '€˜customarily'€™ and there'€™re no more problems. It was not a serious incident '€” more like a spat between siblings,'€ Luhut told reporters at his office.

A TNI member identified as Second Pvt. Yuliadi was shot dead, allegedly by a police officer, during a brawl that erupted at a motorbike racing circuit in Pekkabata subdistrict, Polewali city, on Sunday.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said on Sunday that the police were attempting to find the shooter and bring him to justice.

'€œWe'€™re trying to identify who was at the scene at the time of the incident [...] we will then identify the shooter. The perpetrator will be brought to justice,'€ Badrodin said.

The situation in Polewali was back to normal on Monday after the previous day'€™s bloody flare-up.

Under the terms of the truce between the two institutions, all police personnel have been taken off the streets, while TNI personnel have been stationed to guard all of the regency'€™s police offices and stations.

Polewali Mandar Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Agoeng Adi Kurniawan confirmed the deployment of TNI members to guard police offices in Polewali, adding that both the TNI and the National Police'€™s headquarters had dispatched teams to West Sulawesi to investigate the incident.

'€œThe situation is calm today. We'€™ve withdrawn all our personnel from the field. No police are patrolling or on duty until the situation is completely back to normal,'€ Agoeng said on Monday.

Kodam VII/Wirabuana commander Maj. Gen. Bachtiar said all TNI personnel had also been withdrawn from the field, except those assigned to guard police offices and stations in Polewali.

'€œAll personnel are under control and all weapons have been put in storage. We will maintain the current calm to ensure things don'€™t boil over. I can guarantee that our two institutions will not come to blows again,'€ Bachtiar added.

The investigation team is currently questioning witnesses, while the Polewali Mandar Police have taken into custody four police officers who were at the crime scene when the fight took place. Two of the four are suspected of having fired gunshots during the incident.

'€œWe have taken into custody four officers, three of whom are currently being questioned at the South-and-West Sulawesi police headquarters [in Makassar]. We'€™ve also confiscated two guns used during the clash,'€ Agoeng revealed.

He added that the police were still identifying which of the two guns fired the shot that killed Yuliadi. '€œWe are still waiting for the forensic results from the laboratory,'€ Agoeng added.

Yuliadi was buried in his hometown in Bone regency, South Sulawesi, on Monday.

Separately, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu describe Sunday'€™s bloody incident as a '€œdisgrace'€ for both institutions. '€œIt'€™s embarrassing,'€ Ryamizard remarked to reporters after meeting with Luhut and Badrodin at the office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs on Monday.