For security authorities, the Nov. 27 attack should mount pressures on them to intensify their hunt for the remaining members of MIT.
he killing of four members of a family and the burning of their house and several others in Lemba Tongoa village in the Central Sulawesi regency of Sigi on Friday serve as a message to the police and their counterterror squad that what’s left of the terror group under Santoso, who was killed in a joint operation more than four years ago, remains a clear and present danger to peace and security.
Worse, the latest heinous, cold-blooded acts could undermine religious harmony in the regency and beyond, which was why Muslim and Christian groups immediately called on the public to exercise restraint and trust the police to enforce the law against whoever was behind the violence. Poso and its neighboring areas in Central Sulawesi saw a bloody conflict between Muslims and Christians in the aftermath of New Order’s demise in 1999-2000, until two peace deals brokered by the government were signed in Malino, South Sulawesi, in December 2001 and February 2002.
Central Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Abdul Rakhman Baso said the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group under Ali Kalora was responsible for the morning attack, which the police say was randomly executed. In fact, the terrorist group has been targeting local communities, migrants or natives in an apparent bid to revive the prolonged conflict of 20 years ago.
For security authorities, the Nov. 27 attack should mount pressures on them to intensify their hunt for the remaining members of MIT. Both the police and military have been engaged in a joint operation code-named Tinombala since 2016, which led to the capture and death of Santoso and the arrest of Santoso’s second in command Basri in July of that year. Ali evaded arrest, but his wife, Tini Susanti Kaduku, also known as Umi Fadel, was caught in October.
In September 2019, the Tinombala operation was extended until December of this year, but for the sake of the security and safety of the local people, the joint operation should end only if the perpetrators of Friday’s terror acts are arrested as promised by then-National Police chief Tito Karnavian.
Some counterterrorism observers believe Ali, who has reportedly never fought overseas like Santoso, has mingled with the local people to avoid the radar of both the police and military. The police say that while on the run, Ali may have recruited more members, which means more acts of terror could follow in the future.
Ali and his group have reportedly spread fear for the past year. The police said he was responsible for the killing and mutilation of a local resident in Salubanga village in the neighboring regency of Parigi Moutong, one of the target areas of the Tinombala operation.
In response to condemnation from many quarters against the acts of terror now shrouding Sigi, Parigi Moutong and Poso, the government should take any possible measure and use all resources at its disposal to bring to justice the terrorist suspects. Given that terrorism constitutes an extraordinary crime, extraordinary actions are all that the nation is waiting for.
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