has died while the other girl was still fighting for her live after being shot as well, religious rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said Thursday, November 10.
17-year old Siti Nuraini, a Muslim, died in Poso Kota General Hospital on Wednesday, November 9, said CSW, which is investigating persecution in the region.
Her Christian friend Ivon, also 17, remains in a critical condition after the attack on November 8, the group said. Initial reports said both of the girls were Christians, but CSW’s information suggested that Siti was shot because of her friendship with a Christian.
In a statement to BosNewsLife, the Washington-DC based group International Christian Concern (ICC) said the girls "were shot in the head. [The incident happened] in the Gatot Subroto area of Poso near a Pentecostal church at 7:45 pm local time."
GIRLS BEHEADED
The attack followed beheadings of three Christian schoolgirls on October 29 and human rights watchers said it represents a further escalation in Poso, located on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, about 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) northeast of the capital Jakarta.
The violence has raised fears of renewed massive religious bloodshed in Sulawesi and Poso in particular, where fighting between Muslims and Christians killed about 2,000 people from 1998 through 2001, when a peace deal was agreed.
An official of the Central Sulawesi Christian Reform Church and Chairmen of the Central Sulawesi Churches Crisis Co-ordination Centre, Reverend Rinaldy Damanik, urged security officials and the Indonesian government to calm the situation.
VERY UPSET
"I am very upset by this further violence. A very bad situation is getting worse. This attack is part of the militants’ efforts to provoke further violence," he said in published remarks. Speaking in the United Kingdom he also urged the British government “to realise this is not just a religious matter, but an attack on human rights."
Thousands of additional security forces have reportedly arrived in the region, but human rights watchers fear that response may be inadequate. "We urge the Indonesian government to do more to protect the innocent and prevent a return to widespread inter-religious violence,” said CSW Advocacy Director Tina Lambert in a statement to BosNewsLife.
"It is clear this latest attack on an innocent schoolgirl is designed to provoke further religious violence on Sulawesi. CSW adds its voice to Reverend Damanik’s in calling for calm in the face of such an appalling incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have lost their daughter, " she added. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Indonesia).
