Publication

The violence in Poso was triggered by an incident that took place on Christmas Eve in 1998. It involved fighting between a Christian and Muslim youth in which the latter was subsequently stabbed. Rumours quickly spread and soon assumed religious overtones dividing Muslim and Christian communities. Subsequent incidents triggered more riots and violence between the two communities. In the single bloodiest incident on 28 May 2000, Christian militias massacred 200 Muslim men hiding at the Walisongo Islamic school and destroyed the adjoining village of Sintuwu Lemba.