Jakarta – A policeman and at least two, and up to nine, civilians were killed in renewed sectarian clashes in Ambon, the capital of the troubled eastern Indonesian province of Maluku, police and a report said Saturday.

Maluku military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Iwa Budiman said one policeman and two civilians were killed in Friday's clash between Christians and Muslims in the Suli and Trial areas, 20 kilometers east of the city.

Sergeant Ferry Somael "died from a bullet wound in the head ... and based on information received here, two residents were also killed in the skirmish," Budiman told AFP by phone.

The Antara state news agency said the officer was shot while trying to mediate between the two groups and had died while being rushed to hospital.

But the Sinar Pagi daily, quoting its own journalist on site, said one policeman and nine civilians were killed during the eight-hour clash.

Budiman said on Saturday morning the situation in Ambon was "calm and the city is safe." He said Muslim residents controlled most of the city's harbor areas while Christians dominated districts in downtown Ambon.