Associated Press in Jakarta – Four people have died in fresh violence in Indonesia's troubled Maluku islands, a Muslim cleric said on Saturday.

Soldiers on Saturday shot dead two Muslims travelling by speedboat across the harbour off the provincial capital Ambon, said Malik Selang from the city's Al-Fatah mosque. He said two more Muslims were also killed by security forces on Friday night. At least ten people were injured in both incidents, he said.

Military and government officials confirmed gunbattles had occurred but gave no further details. "We have witnesses to testify that the soldiers killed them [the four men] even though there was no rioting or unrest," Mr Selang said.

The violence comes less than 48 hours after the Indonesian military announced that the 17 battalions currently based in the province would be reduced to four by February.

The islands have been enjoying a period of relative calm. Government officials hope the violence, which has pitted Christians against Muslims since January 1999 and killed more than 5,000 people, has abated.

The region, 2,600km east of Jakarta, was known as the Spice Islands in colonial times. On Friday people from both faiths marked the second anniversary of the beginning of the clashes with services of commemoration.

Sectarian tensions in the area first erupted in 1950, when the Christians – many with ties to the Dutch colonial administration – proclaimed an independent Republic of the South Moluccas. The uprising was eventually crushed by Indonesian forces.

Up until two years ago the region of around 2 million people was held up as a model of communal harmony.

Meanwhile, in Irian Jaya province, a separatist leader imprisoned in Indonesia's troubled Irian Jaya province has been temporarily released from jail and admitted to a hospital, his lawyer said on Saturday.

Theys Eluay underwent an operation on Friday in the provincial capital Jayapura after suffering prostate gland and cardiovascular problems, Arum Siregar said.

Eluay and four other leaders of the separatist Papuan Presidium Council were arrested on December 1 ahead of pro-autonomy rallies. They have been charged with subversion, which carries a maximum 20 year prison sentence.

Siregar said Eluay was no longer in critical condition but may be flown to Jakarta for further treatment if doctors deem it necessary.

Police and army officers have been negotiating with rebels holding 17 people, including three South Koreans, captive in a remote corner of the province, security officials said.