Farouk Arnaz – At least 15 officers were injured and seven villagers were shot in clash at the Barumun Tengah Police station in North Sumatra on Saturday morning, in what police officers say was retaliation for arrests made on the previous night during an ongoing land dispute.

Some 200 people from Luak Ake Buaton village swarmed the Barumun Tengah Police Station on Saturday morning, demanding their friends to be released, police said. Police said they opened fire on the mob after the attackers ignored warning shots.

Police are attributing the attack to an act of revenge after five people were detained for allegedly vandalizing a local administration office and injuring a Barumun government official on Friday night.

Deputy police chief Comr. Gen. Nanan Soekarna described Saturday morning's attack as "brutal," adding that more than a dozen officers were wounded after the attackers through rocks at them.

"Our officers, including Barumun Tengah Police chief Adj.Comr. Sahnur Siregar, who was beaten, were harmed by people. [Sahnur] suffered bruises on the back of his head and his left arm. The detective chief of the Tapanuli Selatan District Police, Adj. Comr. Wilson Pasaribu, suffered bruises on his right foot after being hit by thrown rocks," Nanan told Jakarta Globe on Sunday.

Nanan also said seven local people – Asrian, Masdawiyah, Amir Kotip Pulungan, Muara Sundu, Rustam, Huala Pulungan and Kahar – suffered gunshot wounds.

On Saturday night, North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Wisjnu Amat Sastro said no one had died in the attack, after some local media reported that one of the villagers who was shot died on the way to the hospital.

"Who says that someone died? Don't make any comments if you don't know anything. Our police station was attacked and our officers took action, no one died," he said on Saturday night.

Yusuf Nasution, an attorney for a group of villagers, said to Kompas.com that the conflict originated after members of the Padang Lawas Legislative Council in 1998 claimed ownership of 2,500 hectares of protected land (ulayat) in Aek Nabara Barumun. The villagers say that the land was communal and intended for use by indigenous people.

"We demand police to take the responsibility in the shooting case," Yusuf said, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Coordinator North Sumatra Missing Person and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Herdensi Adnin criticized the police for opening fire on the people. He said police should have reviewed the case comprehensively, as land disputes are a common issue in Indonesia. He said this case is an example of the state's failure to protect farmers, who are vulnerable to manipulation by corporations seeking their land.