Shiites Found Hiding in Jungle Near Sampang

Sampang. Two Shiites were found hiding in the jungle near Sampang on Thursday, adding to a growing number of displaced persons seeking refuge following Sundayâ??s mob attack that left two people dead and seven injured.

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Coordinator Fatkhul Khoir said two Shiites from Karang Gayam village were found severely under nourished, and have now joined some 300 refugees at the Sampang sport center on Thursday.

Kontras added that dozens of Shiites are still hiding in the forest, and also might be risking malnutrition. “There are around 50 Shiites that are still hiding and have not been evacuated,” Fatkhul said. Nine Shiites who were hiding in the jungle were evacuated on Wednesday, three of them children.

Most of the Shiites refused to be evacuated by police, according to reports, so volunteer teams have to accompany officers. “Without volunteer teams, [the refugees] will refuse evacuation,” Fakhul said.

On Sunday morning, a mob consisting of an estimated 500 Sunni Muslims attacked a group of Shiite students and teachers with swords and machetes in Sampang. Two Shiites died, while the mob also torched dozens of homes belonging to the Shiite community.

Muadz, a volunteer coordinator from Ahlul Bait Indonesia, said he was surprised that the refugees were so skeptical of the police. â??They usually ask us first before they return from evacuation,” Iklil Almilal, Muadz said. “I don’t understand why they do not trust the [police]. Probably because of the trauma, as the violence that happened to them was not the first time.”