Richard Galpin, Jakarta – Police in the Indonesian capital Jakarta have detained more than 100 men, some of them armed, as they tried to enter the city from the Moluccan Islands and West Timor.

A police spokesman said they suspected the men were planning to stir up trouble in the capital in the wake of the sectarian violence which has already spread from the Moluccan Islands to Lombok.

The men arrived in two separate boats at Jakarta's main port on Friday. Thirteen were from the Moluccan Islands and 100 from East Timor but currently living in the western half of the island, where many of the former army-backed militias are based.

According to the authorities some were carrying what were described as sharp weapons.

Dozens of police and troops had been deployed at the port just before the boats docked and all the suspects were detained for questioning, though most were later released.

The police said they suspected they had come to Jakarta to stir up violence similar to what has been witnessed in several parts of the country in recent weeks.

Hundreds have been killed in fighting between Christians and Muslims in the Moluccan Islands and more recently the Christian community on the island of Lombok has come under attack.

There have been many allegations that this sectarian violence has been organised by those opposed to the new democratic government of President Abdurraham Wahid, in an attempt to undermine his administration.

The police in Jakarta have now been put on a heightened state of alert as fears mount that the unrest could spread to the capital.