Ruslan Sangadji, Palu, Central Sulawesi – Several residents of Kayamanya subdistrict in Poso, Central Sulawesi, will file complaints against the National Police's counterterrorism unit, Densus 88, following a clash between locals and elite squad that broke out after a local leader was killed in an antiterrorism operation on Saturday.

Poso Legal Aid Institution (LBH) director Azriadi Bachri Malewa said on Monday that as many as 14 residents were currently being examined in Poso Hospital to complete the documents and to collect evidence needed to proceed with the report.

Police and locals were involved in a clash during a protest against Densus 88, after the unit raided a house that was allegedly used as a terrorist base, arrested M. Yasin and shot dead 27-year-old Abdul Halid Tumbingo in Kayamanya. The police reportedly hit, dragged and arrested people who protested the arrest of Yasin and the killing of Abdul, both of whom were community leaders in the area.

Thirteen were detained after they ran amok and attacked police with stones and small explosives, but were released the following evening. Police believed Abdul was a leader of an extremist group in Poso.

Abdul's neighbor, Indo, said that she objected to the Densus 88 squad's forceful entry into her house.

"They smashed my door and it hit my eyes. They frightened my children," she said, adding that she would have accepted the actions, if she were proven guilty. "But I am not. I am only an innocent civilian," she said. (cor/swd)