After days of negotiations, the local administration and police in Sampang, East Java, convinced 300 Shiite Muslim refugees to return to their homes on Thursday afternoon.

"The situation in their village is safe and under control. We have 240 Mobile Brigade [Brimob] officers and 60 military personnel securing their village," Sampang Police chief of operations Comr. Danuri told the Jakarta Globe.

Danuri added that four Shiite leaders were asked not to return home because of police fears that their presence might incite further conflict.

The Shiites, originally from Nangkernang village, had been taking shelter at a football stadium since an attack by hundreds of Sunnis, who burned their homes, a mosque and a school on Dec. 29 last year.

The Shia branch of Islam is followed by a minority in Sunni-dominated Indonesia.