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wo supporters of Arema Cronus soccer club from Malang, East Java, have died after being attacked by Surabaya United soccer club fans in Sragen regency, Central Java on Saturday morning while they were on the way to watch a quarter final game of the Jenderal Sudirman Cup in Sleman, Yogyakarta.

President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo expressed his condolences for the death of the supporters. '€œMy condolences for the death of the soccer supporters. This tragedy should not happen again, we are all brothers-Jkw'€ Jokowi wrote on his official twitter account.

The brawl between the two groups of supporters from the same province took place at a gasoline station in the Jatikusumo area at 4:15 a.m. Around 34 Arema supporters (usually called Aremania) in a bus were taking a rest at the station when four trucks full of Surabaya United fans (popularly known as Bonek) passed the area.

Allegedly, the Surabaya supporters then threw stones at the bus and pulled one of the Arema supporters out of the bus. An Aremania, identified as Eko Prasetyo, 30, a resident of Pandesari, Batu, Malang, died at the scene with severe injuries to his head.

After attacking the Arema supporters, the Surabaya United fans left the scene and encountered another group of Arema Cronus supporters in a minivan not far from the gas station. The Surabaya United supporters also threw stones at the minivan, forcing the Arema fans to flee from the vehicle.

However, the Surabaya hooligans grabbed the van'€™s driver, identified as Slamet, 42, and beat him. He died on the way to the nearby hospital due to injuries on his head and body.

Sragen Police deputy chief Comr. Yudi Arto Wiyono said about 500 Bonek had been arrested after the brawl.

'€œSo far, none of them have been named suspects yet. We are still investigating the case,'€ Yudi said on Saturday.

He said the police also confiscated six trucks, several sharp weapons, such as samurai swords, double sticks and hundreds of belts, as well as liquor bottles from the supporters.

To prevent incidents of violence from continuing, Yudi said he had deployed 100 officers along the main line of Sragen and the bordering area of Ngawi in East Java.

Separately, Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Noer Ali said the police would release Bonek members who were not involved in the attack and return them to Surabaya.

'€œI have coordinated with the East Java Police who said they were ready to escort the supporters home to East Java. Tonight, we will return them by bus,'€ Noer Ali said after meeting the supporters at the Sragen Police headquarters.

Although none of the 500 supporters had been named suspects yet, around 15 of them would be questioned further about their involvement in the fatal attacks, Noer Ali said.

Bonek is a Javanese acronym of bondo nekat (relying on courage). The soccer supporters are often reported for violence, such as brawling and looting, when watching their favorite club.

In March 2012, four Bonek died in the East Java cities of Lamongan and Bojonegoro after allegedly being attacked by members of a rival group from Bojonegoro.