Jeremy Wagstaff and Puspa Madani, Jakarta – A government-appointed team of generals, activists and officials has concluded its three-month investigation into riots that swept Indonesia in May, saying more than 60 women were raped and suggesting the unrest was stoked by a power struggle within the government.

It said that members of the security forces were involved in riots in the capital city of Jakarta and two other cities, and that senior military officers in charge of security should be held accountable. Named were then-Jakarta commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsuddin and Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, a son-in-law of former President Suharto who was himself removed as head of the army's special forces after admitting involvement in the kidnapping of activists earlier this year.

The report is likely to add to calls for the military to accept greater responsibility for the breakdown in law and order that left hundreds of people dead. Although the armed-forces commander, Gen. Wiranto, has asked for public forgiveness for not preventing the riots, there has been no investigation into allegations of military involvement in the riots themselves.

But diplomats and academics said the report appeared to fall short of providing the "smoking-gun evidence" that elements of the army were behind the riots, or of claims that the ethnic Chinese minority was intentionally targeted. The report acknowledged the ethnic Chinese, long resented by many Indonesians for their perceived wealth, "suffered the most materially" from the riots. But it said there was no evidence of systematic planning behind the rapes.

The report was to be released late last month. But internal bickering and difficulties arranging meetings with ministers to hand over the report delayed its publication until Tuesday. Even then, none of the five ministers was available to receive the report officially, and only a 27-page executive summary was presented to journalists. Diplomats said the muted finale contrasted with the launching of the investigation in July.

Outrage at reports of ethnic Chinese being harassed, raped and killed during the May unrest fired Chinese communities overseas and rattled Indonesia's relations with Beijing and Taipei. At the heart of this anger are allegations that more than 160 ethnic-Chinese women were raped during the riots. Diplomats said the report's conclusion of 66 rapes appeared to strike a balance between the higher figures and the report of the team's own researchers, who concluded that 16 cases could be verified using primary sources.