Jakarta – Twenty charred bodies were found Monday in homes set on fire during new Moslem-Christian unrest in the Maluku islands, taking the death toll to 55, a report said.

The official Antara news agency quoted witnesses as saying the bodies were those of people who had been trapped in their burning homes in Larat, a mainly Moslem village on Larat island, last Friday and Saturday.

The violence in Larat followed several days of Moslem-Christian violence in the main district town of Tual, some 190 kilometres to the northwest. On Friday, violence also spread to Elat on Kei Besar island some 30 kilometres east of Tual.

The Surya Citra televisi private station, quoting official sources, said the violence in Southeast Maluku had left 35 people dead and scores of injured before the discovery of the bodies. The violence in Larat had also left over 100 houses burned.

The Maluku islands have been ravaged by sectarian violence since Moslem-Christian clashes started in the provincial capital of Ambon on January 19. Over 255 people have been killed and scores injured amid massive destruction in several of the Maluku islands. Antara said the newly-found bodies have been buried.