Jakarta – The Indonesian province of West Kalimantan hit by fresh ethnic unrest since last week is now calm and under control, an Indonesian army spokesman said according to reports Wednesday.

"Everything is now secure and under control," armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Amir Syarifuddin was quoted by the official Antara news agency as saying.

His comments came as provincial government officials met with military and police leaders in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, early Wednesday, an official of the information office of the local provincial administration said, without saying what would be discussed.

Syarifuddin denied press reports that Pontianak, the main town of West Kalimantan, was tense or that additional troops were brought into the province.

However, he added: "If there was any troop movement it is within the Tanjungpura military command which came from Balikpapan." The Tanjungpura command oversees security for the four provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo island.

Two army infantry companies were flown to Pontianak from Balikpapan Saturday and Sunday, the Media Indonesia daily reported on Tuesday.

The head of the military's socio-political affairs, Lieutenant General Syarwan Hamid met Tuesday with the senior editors of the Indonesian press to discuss the recent spate of riots and the media's coverage of them, the Jakarta Post said.

Hamid was quoted by the daily as saying that the media coverage of the incidents were still within "tolerable limits" but warned of cases of "overexposure" of individual incidents without specifying.

"What is clear is that, unlike the previous days, there are a lot less rumors floating around this morning," a resident said from Pontianak by telephone.

The source said most people were back at work in Pontianak by early Wednesday but had no information on what was happening outside town.

Syarifuddin, according to the Jakarta Post daily, said no curfew had been imposed but "we just appealed to local residents not to leave their homes between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.." Residents have said a curfew was not strictly enforced and people could be seen on the streets of the town in the evening.

Indonesia, the world's largest Moslem-populated nation, has been plagued by a string of recent ethnic and religious unrests that have led to the death of 12 people since October.

Rioting in which buildings have been attacked or set ablaze has hit parts of West Kalimantan since New Year.

On New Year's day, 5,000 members of the indigenous Dayak ethnic went on a rampage in Sanggau Ledo, some 96 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Pontianak, attacking migrants from Madura, an island off East Java.

Five people died in the riots, sources have said, while officials said 21 people were still missing.

In the past week two people have been wounded and there was one unconfirmed death in two attacks on a Catholic dormitory and private homes in Pontianak which locals say housed Dayak refugees.

The violence prompted Malaysia's timber-rich Sarawak state to close all border crossing posts with Kalimantan on Sunday, Malaysia's Bernama news agency said Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Ali Alatas said Wednesday he hoped the border closure would only be temporary. bs/be/jkb