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Joint military-police operation fails to apprehend Santoso
Honor guard: Police officers carry the coffin of First Brig
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span class="inline inline-center">Honor guard: Police officers carry the coffin of First Brig. Winarto at a cemetery in Blumbang village in Boyolali, Central Java, on Saturday. Winarto was one of three officers from a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) special operations unit who were killed in a shootout with an unknown armed civilian group in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in December. (Antara/Andika Betha)
Two days before a joint police military operation expires, military personnel have started to leave the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, but there is no indication that terrorist leader Santoso, also known as Abu Wardah, will be smoked out of his hideout in the forests of Central Sulawesi.
The three-month 'Camar Maleo Code' operation has involved 700 military and 1,000 police personnel.
The soldiers, who have been in Poso since October, began to be sent home on Thursday, although the operation will not end until Saturday. The soldiers are from three battalions in Central, South and North Sulawesi provinces.
Dozens of trucks transported the military personnel to the Poso Regimental Command before they will head to their respective bases.
Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ronny Suseno said that besides the 700 military personnel, 300 police officers also began to be withdrawn on Thursday.
'Meanwhile, 700 officers of the Mobile Brigade are still being maintained to fill the vacancy due to the withdrawal of the military personnel,' said Ronny as reported by kompas.com, adding that their function was to separate residents from the terrorist group. (bbn)(+)
