Jakarta – Some 2,000 students threw stones at several stores Saturday morning on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island after their rally to protest higher basic commodity prices turned into a riot, the state-run news agency Antara said.

According to Antara, the protest rally and rioting by senior high school and university students occurred in the Southeast Sulawesi provincial capital of Kendari.

The agency quoted local police as saying the students, who marched from a local university to the city council building, demanded that basic commodity prices be lowered and that strong actions be taken against distributors who stockpile goods. Lt. Col. Sudarmanto, head of the Kendari police, said three people were detained following the rioting.

Major cities and towns throughout Indonesia have been hit recently by rioting related to higher prices of basic essentials caused by the economic and monetary crisis that has plagued the country since last year. On Friday, there were at least eight riots in eight cities.