Release International

Suspected Islamist terrorists have confessed to beheading three Indonesian schoolgirls in Poso, Central Sulawesi, last year.

Police have announced that seven suspects have now been arrested, at least two of whom are accused of murder. One was detained for 'carrying ammunition' also, according to police.

Associated Press reported on May 10 that all seven men have confessed to playing some part in beheading the three teenage girls who were murdered on their way to school last year. The Jakarta Post reports that three of the suspects have expressed remorse in a video confession. The suspects, five of whom were arrested in Central Sulawesi, will be interrogated at police headquarters in Jakarta.

Three girls between the ages of 15 and 17 were killed in the attack on October 29, 2005. A fourth, Noviana Malewa, survived the assault, though she sustained serious machete wounds. Noviana, 15, described the murderers as six men in black shirts and masks.

One of the seven suspects, Irwan Irano, has also confessed to being involved in the shooting of Rev Susianty Tinulele; the 26-year-old pastor was killed in her pulpit at Effatah Church in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in July 2004. Reports say Irano has also admitted his complicity in the marketplace bombing in Tentena in May 2005 which killed 21 people.

• Pray for the families of the three murdered girls and for Noviana Malewa who survived the attack. Pray too for the family of Rev Susianty in Palu. News of these arrests will inevitably revive painful memories for them all.
• Pray that recent violence in Central Sulawesi will not spiral further into wider unrest. A fragile peace has reigned in the province since the Malino Peace Accord of 2002, which ended three years of violence sparked by calls for a jihad or holy war against Christians.

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