"Therefore, we will maintain security until the end of this year or early next year."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Central Sulawesi district of Poso remains volatile, adding to the potential that terrorist acts might occur in the area.
During the past few weeks the district has been in the spotlight after the killing of two police officers and the discovery of live mines in a village.
Although the district has been secured following an anti-terror police operation that left one terrorist suspect dead, the National Police (Polri) will continue its efforts to secure the volatile district of Poso in Central Sulawesi, according to officials.
Poso Police Chief Brig Gen Dewa Parsana said on Sunday that although Poso has been safe and the situation has slowly returned to normal, security would continue to be stepped up through the end of this year.
The trans-Sulawesi road was initially blocked by fallen trees, planks, tires and stones, though the road has been cleared of barriers and open for traffic.
Protesters had blocked the road to demand the return of the body of Abd. Halid, who was killed during the police operations. The victim`s family had also rejected official claims that Abd. Halid belonged to a terror group.
Parsana noted that although the situation in Poso was slowly becoming more secure, Polri would remain in the area to ensure its security until the end of 2012 or early 2013.
According to Parsana, the Polri will continue to work with the National Defence Forces (TNI) to maintain security in the Poso district and work to anticipate possible security disturbances.
However, he refused to say how many personnel would be deployed between Christmas and New Year`s Eve.
Parsana pointed out that joint security personnel from the Polri and the TNI had conducted an operation at Gunung Biru in Tamanjeka hamlet, the hideout of an armed civilian group in Poso.
During the operation, joint security personnel discovered a number of weapons at the hamlet, about 20 km from the Poso city centre, but failed to arrest any terrorists.
He said he believed that members of the armed group had left the Gunung Biru area in Tamanjeka hamlet for Poso city so they could blend into the crowd.
Parsana added that although the security personnel had been withdrawn from the Gunung Biru area, security would be tightened in urban areas and along the border of the Poso district to restrict the movement of terrorists.
Two police officers went missing on October 8, 2012 while investigating an alleged terrorism crime in Poso.
Two weeks later the bodies of the two police officers, identified as First Brigade Andi Sapa and Brigadier Sudirman, were found buried in one grave, some 6 km from a road leading to the village of Tamanjeka.
Later in October, the police anti-terror squad arrested six suspected terrorists and killed one in the district of Poso.
Officials report that the suspects threw bombs when Poso police and the anti-terror squad surrounded a house in the village.
Police continue looking for additional suspects in Poso, which has been in the grip of tension during the past month due to the acts of terror.
Meanwhile, National Police Headquarters spokesman Brigadiir General Boy Rafli Amar said two of the terror suspects caught by anti-terrorist squad Densus 88 in Poso were believed to be members of a terrorist cell led by Santoso, who was wanted by police.
"Santoso is believed to be the organizer who planned terrorist actions several years ago," Rafli Amar said.
He also confirmed that one of the suspects was killed while attacking the police with a bomb.
"He attacked the police using a pipe bomb. He threw the bomb at police members trying to arrest him," he said.
According to Rafli, there was a strong possibility that Santoso had been hiding the two suspects and hosted terrorist training in Poso, Sulawesi.
Earlier, police officials identified Gunung Biru in Tamanjeka, Poso, Central Sulawesi as the location of a terrorist training camp sponsored by the group.
Combing the Gunung Biru forest in Tamanjeka, a 300-strong law enforcement task force of police and military discovered a number of live mines, apparently buried by the suspected terrorists.
"The mines, in the form of locally assembled bombs of various sizes, have been defused," said Brig. Gen Dewa Parsana, the Central Sulawesi police chief who led the operation.
He noted that the task force was sent to apprehend a group of armed civilians who had been responsible for terror attacks in the regions, and had shot and murdered civilians and law enforcement officers.
The task force also found locally assembled firearms and five bullets, Parsana said.
Additionally, there was an axe, five knives, cables, batteries, an adapter, a chain lubricant and a blackboard, probably used to display the group`s war strategy.
The tools were found in a deserted hut in a plantation known to be owned by a hajj, whose name is Sabir.
It was strongly believed that the tools were owned by the terrorist suspects and used in military-like training in the forest of Tamanjeka, known as Gunung Biru.
The tools have been sent to the Poso police headquarters, some 36 kilometers from the location they were found.
The police and military also found a number of holes, apparently used by the terror suspects to hide and watch for police in the mountain forest.
Parsana said the words "Al Jihad" were written on a number of tree trunks.
Further, he noted that the mission of the task force combing the forest was to "sterilize" the area, which had been used as a training ground by the armed group.
He also said the task force would continue pursuing the terror suspects, believed to be hiding in the forest.
Parsana explained that the suspected terrorists often came to the city of Poso to mingle with the residents, while planning terror attacks on new targets.
"Therefore, we will maintain security until the end of this year or early next year," he noted.
(T.O001/INE/KR-BSR/S012)
Reporter: by Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
