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Afghan and Sudanese immigrants involved in brawl, 17 wounded
Dozens of Afghan and Sudanese immigrants were involved in a brawl at their shelter in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Thursday
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ozens of Afghan and Sudanese immigrants were involved in abrawl at their shelter in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Thursday. Seventeen of them were wounded and are being treated in two separate hospitals.
The incident also seriously damaged the facilities at Wisma Bugis, the refugee shelter where they were staying.
The ten wounded Afghans are being treated at Awal Bross Hospital while the seven Sudanese are being treated at Daya Hospital.
Head of Tamalanrea Police in Makassar Comr. Ahmad Yulias said the incident it was sparked by a serious argument between two immigrants from the two different countries.
'Several immigrants from Sudan were playing cards after dinner. An Afghan immigrant took a photograph of them. One of the Sudanese was very irritated by that, which caused an intense argument, eventually leading to a brawl with dozens of immigrants,' Yulias said on Thursday.
According to the police officer, heated arguments often occurred between the two groups because they were tired of living in the shelter for years on end.
Meanwhile, head of Makassar Immigration Office Tagas Hartawan said his office would take the case to the police so that those who were involved in the incident would be punished.
'We call on the police to investigate the case so that it has a deterrent effect on other immigrants,' Tegas said, adding that his office has demanded that the immigrants living in the city abide by the country's laws.
He said he would consider separating immigrants based on their nationalities. At Wisma Bugis, there are 150 immigrants: 129 from Afghanistan and 21 from Sudan.
In Makassar, there are 1,875 immigrants sheltered at 27 shelters in across the city. Most of the immigrants are from Afghanistan, Myanmar [Rohingya], Sudan and Somalia.
