Angry mobs have looted and trashed dozens of shops owned by ethnic Chinese in Indonesia"s Central Java province because of rising prices, an official said Wednesday.

Hartoyo, an official of the regency of Rembang told Reuters by phone that mobs of youths had attacked shops in the small coastal villages of Fragan and Sarang, about 500 km east of Jakarta. "There was a riot over the price of basic commodities and price rises," he said "The area is not yet calm and troops have come from neighbouring regions," he said.

Nine shops were destroyed by local youths in Sarang on Tuesday night and 17 in Kragan on Monday night, he said, adding that all were owned by ethnic Chinese. "All the shops were destroyed by local youths and in Kragan there was also a church damaged," he said. "All the foodstuffs were looted. There were no victoms, only the stock was taken and the shops destroyed."

The police and military in the region were not immediately available for comment on the trouble.