Jakarta – Indonesian marines shot and killed Wednesday at least four villagers who were among hundreds protesting over land ownership on the main island of Java, a local official said.

Marines started shooting after the residents from Pasuruan town in east Java gathered to rally against the development of land at the centre of a bitter court dispute with the navy, said district official Muzammil Syafii.

"So far, we have three confirmed dead, all with gunshot wounds," he said. "Eight others were injured, most with bullet wounds," he said, adding one man and two women were killed. Another man who was shot in the head later died in hospital, said Sakuntala who works at Syaiful Anwar hospital in nearby Malang city.

Residents are often embroiled in property disputes with the Indonesian military which owns vast tracts of sometimes dormant land, although disputes rarely lead to such deadly violence.

Villagers blocked a road leading to the land Wednesday and held speeches in an increasingly charged atmosphere amid tight security, said Syafii.

It was unclear what triggered the shooting, although one military official said residents had started pelting stones at the marines on guard.

Television pictures showed chaotic scenes of bleeding residents, mainly women, being carried on the back of a truck to hospital.

Children were among the crowd screaming and crying, Metro TV showed. "There is a child about three years old injured," local police chief Boy Rafli Amar said.

About 40 marines opened fired on the residents but then fled the area, one witness said. "They ran away after the crowd became bigger," witness Solihin told ElShinta radio. "People were gathering on the road, it was easy to shoot them," another witness, Kurois, also told ElShinta.

He said most of the crowd fled when the shooting started, although some also hurled stones at the marines.

Navy Marine Commander Safzen Nordin said that marines pelted with stones could have triggered the incident, although details were still unclear.

"We are investigating the incident," he told Metro TV. "If we find that any of our members were involved in the clash, for sure, we will take strong measures against them," he said.

The navy originally owned the land but neglected it for many years, allowing residents to build and farm on the area, the East Java provincial government's website said. The navy reclaimed ownership several years ago after taking the matter to court and winning a decision that forced some of the residents off the 3,000-hectare (7,410-acre) site, the website said.

The residents have lodged an appeal against the decision which they say prevents the navy developing it into a training centre for its recruits, until the court case is settled.

Local lawmaker Effendi Choirie expressed outrage at the shooting. "We kept reminding the army to settle the (land dispute), but now they are shooting people. This is too much."