Tual – Police fired shots Friday to disperse battling mobs of Christians and Muslims in eastern Indonesia, witnesses said. At least seven people were killed.

The rioting in Tual city was the latest outburst of religious unrest in Maluku province, where more than 300 people have died in fighting this year. Dozens of churches and mosques have been burned.

Residents said by telephone that Christian attackers hurled gasoline bombs at homes and fought Muslim gangs with spears and knives. Some Muslim women took part in the fighting.

Witnesses said they saw the bodies of five Muslims and two Christians. At least 19 people suffered bullet or knife wounds.

"I saw two men who were killed by knives and arrows," said a witness who requested anonymity. He said police tried to disperse the rioters by shooting at their legs.

The military has struggled to contain frequent outbursts of unrest in Indonesia over the past year. Religious and ethnic tensions, economic hardship and disputes over the course of Indonesia's transition to democracy have fueled violence since the downfall in May of authoritarian President Suharto.

Most of Indonesia's 210 million people are Muslims, but Maluku province has a large Christian population.