Jakarta – The Indonesian armed forces on Sunday sent a team of 19 high-ranking military officers to riot-torn Ambon in a bid to halt ongoing Moslem-Christian violence which has left more than 160 people dead.

"We are sending 19 high-ranking officers who were born and raised in Maluku because they fully understand the culture and customs of the local people," armed forces chief General Wiranto told journalists at Jakarta's Halim military air base.

The team is made up of both Moslems and Christians and is led by Major General Suaidi Marasabessy, chief of the Wirabuana Command which oversees provinces in Sulawesi island.

Wiranto said he hoped that the team would be able to calm the warring communities due to the members' full access to the people.

He also said the military would help the tens of thousands of settlers from other provinces, who had fled Ambon since the violence erupted mid-January, to return when the situation had been brought under control.

"We hope they will return and ABRI (the armed forces) will provide its ships to help them return to Maluku, which has been their home for generations," he said.

Wiranto said the declaration of an emergency in Maluku province, of which Ambon is the capital, was not yet warranted.

Wiranto last week sent some 3,000 marines and tough Kostrad Strategic Command troops to Ambon in a bid to bring the violence under control. But the brief calm which heralded their arrival was shattered Friday with the fire-bombing of a Christian church.

Hours later plainclothes police officers opened fire on a crowd of Christians guarding their homes near the church, killing one person and wounding at least 16.

Repeated appeals by religious leaders to halt the vicious cycle of revenge attacks by Moslems and Christians in Ambon and surrounding islands have been in vain.