Security forces deployed over riots in Indonesia’s Sulawesi

The police in South and West Sulawesi, Indonesia, have announced they have deployed 1,100 personnel to the city of Palopo following yesterday’s riots that burned down several offices, including the office of the Palopo Post newspaper.

“Right now everything’s under control. However, we’ve deployed more officers to the site to make sure,” South and West Sulawesi Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Endi Sutendi said as quoted by Antara News Agency on Monday.

He said 400 out of the 1,100 personnel were from the police’s Mobile Brigade while the rest were soldiers from a local army barracks.

On Sunday, following the local General Elections Commission (KPUD) announcement that the Judas Amir-Ahmad Syarifuddin ticket had won the local municipality elections, supporters of losing candidate Haidar Basir had gone on a rampage using Molotov cocktails .

The mob then burned down the local Golkar Party headquarters, the General Elections Monitoring Committee office and the Palopo Post office.