Jakarta – Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse supporters of a Muslim-based minority party in two Indonesian towns, as tension rose ahead of the May 29 general election, residents and newspapers said yesterday. In all, clashes were reported in four towns in central Java on Sunday, all involving campaigning supporters of the United Development Party (PPP), they said. At least 25 people were hurt.

Residents in the coastal town of Pekalongan said troops were called out after seven people were injured and two houses were damaged following a clash between police and PPP supporters.

Police in Pekalongan, a PPP stronghold and the scene of previous clashes between supporters of the opposition party and the ruling Golkar party, declined comment.

"The clash happened after thousands of people removed Golkar flags from the city. They were on their way home after attending a PPP rally," said a resident.

Witnesses said anti-riot police fired tear gas when the mob tried to attack a petrol station, adding that four PPP supporters and three passers-by were hurt while fleeing.

In nearby Temanggung, which was rocked by riots between PPP and Golkar supporters last month, police fired rubber bullets to disperse protesters who had tried to breach a police barricade on a main road, the Republika newspaper said.

Residents and newspapers said at least 18 people were injured in the nearby town of Demak after a clash between PPP supporters and Golkar loyalists. In the coastal city of Jepara, an angry crowd attacked a police station after a PPP supporter died in a road accident involving a car driven by a policeman, Kompas newspaper reported. – Reuter.