Background
Central Sulawesi has experienced Muslim-Christian violence in recent years. The most serious violence occurred between 1998 and into 2000. Over 1,000 people were killed in violence, riots, and tens of thousands were expelled from their homes. After a period of relative calm, hostilities were reignited by rumors that a Muslim girl had been raped by a Christian. Thousands of Muslims and Christians died in the following year, and more than 60,000 families are reported to have fled their homes.
The Malino peace accord was signed in 2001 and produced a dramatic decline in violence, but in the following years, tension and systematic attacks persisted. In 2003, 13 Christians were killed in the Poso District by unknown masked gunmen. In May 2005, a bomb blast in the nearby town of Tentena, killed twenty-two people and injured more than thirty. Days after the killings, two 17 year-old schoolgirls were shot in the same area.
Christian community leaders have repeatedly criticized the authorities for allegedly not doing enough to find the perpetrators of attacks on Christians in Sulawesi.
Read more about this topic: 2005 Indonesian Beheadings Of Christian Girls
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