Jakarta – Thousands of protesters rampaged through a central Java town Monday, burning and looting Chinese-owned shops and cars, while at least 2,000 students in the capital tore down the gates of Indonesia's parliament.

Police said mobs burned nine shops and damaged many others in Kebumen, about 220 miles southeast of Jakarta. There were no reports of injuries. One man was arrested, police said.

The Kebumen unrest was the latest in a string of riots around Indonesia over the last two weeks, including some in the northern province of Aceh that were triggered by anti-military sentiment. Two people died. In Kebumen, hundreds of people remained on the streets as night fell after dozens of police and troops tried to restore order. In some places, mobs piled goods out in the street and set them ablaze.

Security forces blocked roads into the town, said one resident who identified himself as Achmad. Many Indonesians use only one name. He said by telephone that trouble broke out after a fight between a local man and an ethnic Chinese shopkeeper.

[In a separate report, Associated Press said that a resident told them by telephone that trouble broke out after a fight between a local man and an ethnic-Chinese shopkeeper - James Balowski.]