Maluku sectarian conflict

Maluku sectarian conflict
Part of the post-Suharto era in Indonesia
Indonesian military forces evacuate refugees from Ambon during the conflict in 1999.
Date	14 January 1999 – 13 February 2002
Location	Maluku Islands (with particularly serious disturbances in Ambon and Halmahera islands)
Caused by	Ethnic tensions, Transmigration, Jihadism
Methods	Territorial acquisition, riots, pogroms, bombings, protests, expulsion
Resulted in	Malino II Accord
Parties
Muslim society and Islamists in Maluku Laskar Jihad Komando Jihad Islamic Defenders Front Jemaah Islamiyah Laskar Mujahidin Christian society in Maluku Laskar Kristus Maluku Sovereignty Front Brigade Manguni Government of Indonesia Indonesian National Armed Forces Indonesian National Police Pancasila Youth Pasukan Jihad Desa Sabaleh Laskar Mujahida Pasukan Merah Pasukan Kuning
Lead figures
Ja'far Umar Thalib Jumu Tuani Rizieq Shihab Abu Bakar Ba'asyir Abu Bakar Wahid Agus Wattimena † Berty Loupatty Alex Manuputty Tonaas Wangko Lendy Wangke Benny Betjara Abdurrahman Wahid Wiranto
Number
20,000 several thousands
Casualties
Death(s)	5,000 killed[1]

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The Maluku sectarian conflict was a period of ethno-political conflict along religious lines that occurred in the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, with particularly serious disturbances on the islands of Ambon and Halmahera. The duration of the conflict is generally dated from the start of the Reformasi era in early 1999 to the signing of the Malino II Accord on 13 February 2002.

The principal causes of the conflict are attributed to general political and economic instability in Indonesia following the fall of Suharto and the devaluation of the rupiah during and after a wider economic crisis in Southeast Asia.^[2] The forthcoming division of the existing province of Maluku into the new provinces of Maluku and North Maluku exacerbated existing district political disputes further^[3][4] and, as the political dispute had been characterized along religious lines, inter-communal fighting broke out between Christian and Muslim communities in January 1999, cascading into what could be described as all-out warfare and atrocities against the civilian population committed by both sides.^[5] The main belligerents were therefore religious militia from both faiths,^[6] including the well-organised Islamist Laskar Jihad,^[7] and Indonesian government military forces.^[8]