Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia is rushing hundreds of special force troops to its Borneo province in an attempt to end the slaughter of migrant settlers by mobs of headhunting Dayaks who on Sunday expanded the areas they control.
Officials fear that attacks on Madurese settlers are about to spread from the central Kalimantan town of Sampit, the scene of gruesome killings over the past week, to outlying towns and villages.
As two Hercules planes flew in 650 Strategic Command (Kostrad) troops, mobs of headhunters set off into the jungle on Sunday in search of migrants who had fled the carnage.
Mobs also took charge of the streets of the provincial capital, Palangkaraya, setting fire to some of the homes and businesses of Madurese who had fled.
The chief security minister, Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said that while Sampit was now under control, "there are indications that the problem may spread to more remote places which are difficult to reach ... because of that we will deploy an additional battalion to strengthen the situation there".
The Kostrad battalion will back up another 2,000 non-resident police who have been sent to the province.
Observers are describing attacks on Madurese by the majority Dayaks that started seven days ago as an attempt to force tens of thousands of them from the island despite them having lived and worked there for decades.
A Dayak leader, Mr Tahunjung Aji, denied reports that yesterday was the deadline for the Madurese to leave. "We understand that it takes time to leave the area," he said. "The most important thing to us is for them to leave central Kalimantan as soon as possible."
A Madurese leader, Mr Marlinggih Kaka, said about 1,000 of his people had been killed, and accused police of taking sides with the Dayaks. After arriving on a navy ship in Surabaya with other evacuees from Sampit, Mr Kaka said: "They allowed the Dayaks to carry all their weapons and did nothing to stop them attacking our neighbourhood. But they searched and seized our weapons."
With their faces painted to depict traditional warriors, Dayak men have mutilated almost all of their victims, including children. Some of the heads were paraded around Sampit on sticks.
The inability of Indonesia's security forces based in Kalimantan to quell the violence underscores Indonesia's disarray during its transition from autocratic rule to democracy.
Observers say underpaid police and soldiers have been reluctant to put themselves between fighting groups and have confined themselves to guarding refugees at makeshift camps.
Some unconfirmed reports claim the Dayaks' hatred of Madurese has been exploited to provoke the violence as part of an attempt to topple President Abdurrahman Wahid, who has refused to cancel a 15-day tour of Africa and the Middle East to return home to oversee the crisis.
Mr Hidayat Nur Wahid, the leader of the small Justice Party, said Indonesia was facing a time bomb, and called on Mr Wahid to return home immediately.
Witnesses on Sunday reported seeing the bodies of several more victims on roads between the provincial capital, Palangkaraya, and Sampit, a four-hour drive away. One victim's heart had been ripped out.
Gangs of Dayaks wielding swords and knives were seen riding around Palangkaraya hunting Madurese. Police and soldiers stood by and watched as the homes of some of the Madurese were looted and trashed.
About 9,000 Madurese have been evacuated by navy ships from Sampit while another 20,000 remain in government compounds awaiting transport to other parts of Indonesia.