Fitri – Three people in East Lombok were shot when police opened fire on a violent protest over a village water source on Thursday.

Hundreds of villagers from Montong Gading and Terara, some armed with knives and bamboo spears, demanded police and military personnel who were guarding a pipe operated by the state-owned regional water utility (PDAM) leave their village.

The villagers have accused PDAM of stealing water from the village's Tereng Wilis spring and channeling it to other areas.

As the protesters approached the police, officers drew their weapons and opened fire to try and disperse the crowd. Terara Police chief Adj. Comr. Sutarman was stabbed by one of the protesters while another officer was struck by a projectile. As the situation grew more tense, the police and the military, which had been called in as backup, retreated.

"The police were firing directly at us. There were no warning shots," said Marsan, one of the villagers. "We didn't intend to attack the police, but they started shooting at us."

Three protesters who were shot in the incident were taken to the nearest hospital, while the others burned PDAM's equipment, including motorcycles and an electrical generator owned by the company. One protester was shot in the hip, one in the leg and the other suffered a head wound. No one was killed in the clash.

The villagers on Wednesday had asked for the project to be halted temporarily until a final decision could be reached in the negotiations between the villages and the East Lombok district administration.

East Lombok Police chief Adj. Comr. Erwin Zadma said the police fired warning shots after one of the protesters pointed a knife at a police officer's throat. "Then the people started to hurl rocks, which injured four policemen, and because of that we fired rubber bullets into the crowd," he said.