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Army still yet to decide its role in an operation to arrest Santoso
On the hunt: Officers of the policeâs Mobile Brigade (Brimob) search for suspected terrorists hiding in the forests of Mount Koroncopu, Poso Pesisir, Central Sulawesi
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span class="inline inline-center">On the hunt: Officers of the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) search for suspected terrorists hiding in the forests of Mount Koroncopu, Poso Pesisir, Central Sulawesi. (JP/Ruslan Sangadji)
Indonesian Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Muhammad Sabrar Fadhilah has said that the force was yet to decide what role it would play in the next operation to arrest Santoso, the leader of terrorist group East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) in Central Sulawesi.
Fadhilah said on Friday that the Army would first carry out an evaluation before deciding whether it would continue its participation with the three-month joint police-military operation "Camar Maleo Code IV" to be wrapped up on Saturday with Santoso still at large.
"We still don't know, but in principle we are ready to join the police to assist them in the operation. It is likely to extend the length [of the operation]," Fadhilah told thejakartapost.com.
Fadhilah added that the Camar Maleo operation, which involved 700 military and 1,000 police personnel, comprised three components.
The first component was combat operations to challenge MIT armed group members, who had committed acts of terror using weapons.
Second was territorial operations to de-radicalize local residents, among whom MIT had reportedly already spread their influence.
And the third was intelligence operations as a main tool of gathering information.
According to Fadhilah, the difficult terrain of Poso Pesisir forest in Central Sulawesi, which covers an area of 2,400 square kilometers, had allowed Santoso to evade capture.
Another factor, he added, was how successfully he had radicalized his followers.
He stressed that the army and police needed to formulate a new strategy if the operation was to continue.
Meanwhile, Poso Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ronny Suseno said that after the completion of the Camar Maleo IV on Saturday, the police would continue the operation for about two weeks with the new code 'Tinombala'.
Regarding the continuation of the police-military joint operation, Ronny said that it was up to the National Police to make the decision.
For years, the police have hunted the group led by terrorist leader Santoso, known also as Abu Wardah, and have managed to arrest and kill a number of group members, but failed to capture Santoso. (bbn)
