T

he Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police must apply a new strategy to successfully hunt down and neutralize a terror group operating in Poso, Central Sulawesi, senior officials have said.

'€œThe group is resilient and Indonesian authorities should think about how to weaken them more effectively,'€ terrorism expert Al Chaidar told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Al Chaidar, a former member of the radical group Islamic State of Indonesia (NII), said that the terror group had entrenched itself in Poso.

'€œPoso is similar to Mindanao, in the Southern Philippines, where the group had previously trained. So it is easy for them to keep strong and resume terrorizing the local people,'€ Al Chaidar said.

'€œThey are survivors. They have proved that they can terrorize,'€ he added, rejecting accusations that the conflict in Poso was little more than a media creation, or that mere thugs were behind the violence and barbarity engulfing Poso.

The terrorism in Poso is allegedly orchestrated by the Santoso-led East Indonesian Mujahidin (MIT) group. The group has affiliated itself with the Islamic State (IS) militant group since 2013.

According to Al Chaidar, one strategy that Indonesian authorities could employ would be to separate them from the local people and corner them in certain areas. Doing so would isolate them and they would, therefore, be unable to rely on support from the local populace.

'€œThe TNI'€™s role is important because they know how fight against guerilla strategy'€ he said.

The National Police and the TNI are set to combine their capabilities to hunt down and extirpate the terrorist groups in Poso.

'€œWe will hunt them down,'€ the National Police Chief Badroddin Haiti told reporters at the national police headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday.

Badroddin said that TNI chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo had agreed to deploy an additional 500 military personnel to Poso. These personnel will be assigned to engage in military operations against the terror group.

'€œThe addition personnel will conduct operations to find Santoso'€™s group,'€ Badroddin said,

Currently at least 1,000 personnel from the police'€™s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) and the Densus 88 antiterrorism squad have been deployed in the regency. Nonetheless, Santoso and his men continue to generate fear and violence in the area.

The recent Camar Maleo 1, 2 and 3 police operations against the terrorists were not able to permanently enhance the people'€™s security in that part of Indonesia.

It has been reported that the deadline given to the police to neutralize the MIT threat is December 2015. If by that time Santoso and his group members have not been arrested or killed, the TNI will take over operations.

There was no response from the TNI on the plan to take over operations in Poso.

From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, Poso was home to sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians. Although the conflict officially ended with the signing of the Malino Accords in 2001 and 2002, the region remains a hotbed of terroristic activity.