FRIDAY-SATURDAY-SUNDAY
July 28-30, 2000
volume 11, no. 127


NEWS for Friday-Saturday-Sunday, July 28-30, 2000
INDONESIA PRESIDENT WARNS GENERAL FUNDING JIHAD AGAINST CHRISTIANS

JAKARTA (CWNews.com)

    Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has questioned an army general over allegations the soldier is funding a "holy war" or jihad by Muslim extremist militias against Christians in the Moluccas region, according to the Berita Buana daily on Thursday.

    The newspaper quoted Wahid as saying he summoned the lieutenant general after hearing reports of the general's involvement in the violence. He reportedly told him to either "continue funding the militants and quit the military" or, if he wants to remain in the military, "leave the militants."

    Thousands of people have been killed in fighting in the Moluccas, a majority Christian region in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, since fighting between rival gangs began 20 months ago. In recent months, organized militias of Muslim holy war fighters have entered the region with more sophisticated weapons and embarked on a campaign to eradicate Christians. The military has been accused of assisting the militias.

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