Jakarta – A violent battle between rival Jakarta neighborhood gangs ended with a huge fire in the early hours of Sunday.

Youths from Menteng, Central Jakarta, and their opponents from Manggarai, South Jakarta, commenced their sporadic battle at 4:00 pm on Saturday, hurling stones at one another. But they soon took a break for some spiritual guidance at local mosques. "Naturally there was a pause in the fighting at 6:00 pm so they could take some time-out for evening prayers," said Johannes, a local resident.

When the prayers finished at 8:00 pm, the youths leapt back into the fray, with several of them putting down their stones in favor of knives, iron bars and air rifles. Two young men from the Manggarai gang, Rosyid (21) and Nurdin (22), were shot in the chest and sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta, to have the bullets removed. Johannes said two Menteng youths were also badly injured. One had his fingers chopped off by the rival gang, while the other had his stomach sliced open with a piece of sharp steel.

By 10:00 pm the gangs needed a rest and declared a three-hour truce. The fighting resumed at 1:00 am on Sunday, with several molotov cocktails being hurled about. Most of the action took place at Jalan Tambak in Manggarai, as youths from Menteng's Tang Tuyul village joined the assault.

Having anticipated the use of molotov cocktails, the gang members had hoses and buckets at the ready to extinguish any fires. But a massive blaze erupted after youths from the villages of Menteng Jaya and Magesin, hurled molotov cocktails at Tambak Seberang village in Manggarai. At least three houses were incinerated in the ensuing blaze on Jalan Tambak.

The warring youths ceased their violence after realizing that the residents of the three burning houses were not involved in the battle. Feeling guilty about starting the fire, the gang members joined forces to save all the furniture from the houses, and evacuated the residents.

The fire brigade was called shortly after 2:00 am, but fire engines didn't arrive until 3:00 am, by which time the three houses had been gutted. The gangs cursed the fire brigade for being late to arrive, while concerned local residents cursed nearby police for not having intervened in the warfare.

Residents of Tambak Seberang said laid back police and security officials had sat under awning tents, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes from the time the fight began until it finished.

"They should have been on the alert at railway line which divides the two warring regions. If they just see the war from a distance, then how can they stop it? Or do they amuse themselves by watching the atrocious scene?" asked the Tambak Seberang village head.

After the battle had finished, hundreds of local residents and the rival gangs joined forces to chase the idle police out of the area. "Get out of here, you sons of the devil! We don't need you!" the residents yelled as they chased the police away.

Firefighters were also pursued by an angry mob that hurled stones at them, threatening to kill them. They were eventually saved by a kindly shop owner on Jalan Tambak who hid them in his store.