Jakarta – Police clashed with troops after an exchange of insults on the island of Borneo Tuesday, leaving four people dead and 12 others injured, police and a news report said. A police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said two police officers and two soldiers had died from gunshot wounds. "I just heard that four officers were killed," said the officer, who refused to give further details.

The clash between soldiers from a cavalry unit and members of the police special mobile brigade broke out in Pontianak, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Jakarta.

The official Antara news agency said the clash between the two groups, who live in neighboring dormitories, began after an exchange of insults between policemen competing in a walking event and a carload of soldiers. It quoted Col. Encip Kadarusman of the local military as saying 12 officers were hospitalized for serious wounds. A police dormitory was badly damaged, he added without elaborating. Some witnesses said they heard gunshots and that some security personnel had been wounded.

The walking competition was part of celebrations ahead of national Armed Forces Day next Monday. In Indonesia, the police force is part of the military. However, in recent months there have been growing calls for the police to be made a separate organization as part of a push for greater democracy following the forced resignation of autocratic President Suharto in May.