Vaudine England in Jakarta and Agencies in Mataram – Sporadic looting and attacks on ethnic Chinese and Christians continued for a fourth day on the tourist island of Lombok yesterday.
But by afternoon a measure of calm had been restored by the hundreds of troops and police rushed to the island east of Bali. Tourists on Lombok continued to flee, however.
A public relations officer at the Novotel hotel in southern Lombok said 48 foreign tourists staying there were evacuated to Bali yesterday. "Nothing has happened here. Our hotel is 60km away [from Mataram]. But we evacuated all the guests as a precaution," she said.
Australia's consul in Bali, Ross Tysoe, said about 200 people were ferried from the Gili Islands off the northwest coast of Lombok overnight. More followed during the day. While the popular backpacking and diving area had not seen any violence, Mr Tysoe said there were fears it could spread.
The assistant manager of a Lombok hotel, Putu Indiawan, said the resort area of Senggigi, 20km from the capital, Mataram, was quiet, but he had heard rumours of a new attack planned for today. Most hotels are now empty of guests and have sent their Christian staff away.
Mobs went on the rampage on Monday in Mataram, attacking and burning Christian churches and homes, in apparent revenge for reports of the slaughter of Muslims by Christians in the distant North Maluku islands.
A carload of Christian professionals leaving Lombok on Wednesday night reported that their vehicle was stopped by Muslim youths on their way to a Bali-bound ferry, and the passengers were asked if they were Christians.
"Luckily, the man in front spoke Sasak [the indigenous Muslim language on Lombok], and told them, 'No', and the Muslims did not check identity cards," said one of those in the car, speaking from Bali.
"It seems more like terror tactics and intimidation," she said. "It seems there has been an order not to burn houses and not to loot, so the youths are taking things on to the streets and burning them instead. What I heard today was that it is still quite tense. It is not calm yet".
Alex Jones, the British Council representative in Lombok, also reported continued tension, telling the BBC: "Basically the situation isn't under control. There is this very strong feeling they're looking for Christians.
"It's young guys on the street and I don't think even the guys who originally conceived all this, burning churches, are necessarily in control."
The death toll from the violence rose to five, all rioters shot by security forces, police said.
Dozens of Christian homes were torched or looted overnight, residents said. "Last night, the house of my [Christian] neighbour was ransacked and the belongings were then burned," said one woman in Mataram.
Cars that had been overturned and burned had been hauled away, while shops were reopening. However, hundreds of Christians and ethnic Chinese were sheltering in police stations and government buildings. Residents said police orders to shoot rioters on sight seemed to have been ignored.
Police in Mataram said they had no reports of fresh violence during yesterday. "It's quiet and safe. I heard police will start using live ammunition. But I don't know more about it," said one policeman.
In the Maluku capital, Ambon, hundreds of Muslims protested after the tortured body of a Muslim man was found dumped in a Christian district. Blaming Christians for his death, some protesters called for revenge.