A massive force of thousands of soldiers and police officers are seeking to track down Santoso and members of his gang in the mountain jungle of Poso.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Police and the military have joined forces to hunt down long sought notorious terrorist leader Santoso alias Abu Wardah and members of his gang in Poso , Central Sulawesi.

President Joko Widodo not wanting to be disturbed by frequent reports of bloody encounters between the security forces and armed gang in Poso has passed order for the hunt to stop Santoso.

A massive force of thousands of soldiers and police officers are seeking to track down Santoso and members of his gang in the mountain jungle of Poso.

"Santoso and about 20 remaining members of his gang were cornered. They were split into a number of small groups. The security authorities have identified the hiding places of the groups. Their days are numbered," a government official has said.

However, the police and the military and the Terrorism Control National Body (BNPT) which have launched the Tinombala Operation have yet to prove the consistency of the statement.

A number of Santosos gang members have been reported killed or arrested but the military and police have also lost a number of their members.

The latest incident was an army helicopter crashing in the village of Kasiguncu, in the regency of Poso on March 20 killing all on board - 13 army men including a number of senior and middle ranking army officers and soldiers of lower ranks and crewmen.

Among the senior army officers were Tadulako regiment commander Brig.Gen.Saiful Anwar, Brig.Gen. Heri S, and Brig.Gen.Ontang Roma, and a number of colonels, majors and captains, and junior officers.

When the nation grieved over the losses video tapes were circulated showing Santoso and his men enjoying roasted meat and then swimming in a river as if celebrating something in the jungle.

Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs, Law and Security Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the military and police are closing in on the hiding places of the terrorists.

The security forces have succeeded in driving the terrorists to a place close to a mountain from which they would be difficult to escape, Luhut said.

They are hiding within a location of 5 square kilometers and their whereabouts have been identified, he added.

The government hopes that Santoso would surrender to avoid more unnecessary losses of lives, he said.

"The government, however, has been prepared for everything including the worst scenario," he said.

The Tinombala Operation has set a target to round up Santoso and members of his gang in six month as from January this year. Order has been passed to catch Santoso alive or dead.

Luhut, however, said he could not give a precise date when Santoso would be arrested.

"No nation in the world that could precisely predict when to end a war against guerilla fighters," he said.

The Tinombala Operation is the continuation of a previous operation called Camar Maleo Operation, which had been launched in four phases ending on January 9 against the Santoso armed gang.

A number of the gang members have been killed or arrested but Santoso is still on his unending trail while trying to recruit more fighters.

He is even reported to have succeeded in recruiting foreign fighters.

Chief of BNPT Comr.Gen.HM Tito Karnavian, who was former chief of Jakarta Metropolitan police, has a short term program to eliminate Santoso and his followers.

Tito, who has an experience in police duty in Poso for 18 months, said he knew the area and geographical condition of Poso.

He said it is important is to keep the terrorists cornered and cut logistics and information for them from outside.

The police and military , therefore, must maintain their position surrounding the terrorists.

Central Sulawesi police chief Brig.Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said Santoso has lost much of his strength .

"They are only lucky, but luck is not always with them," he said.

The Central Sulawesi police chief, who is in charge of the operation to nab Santoso and his followers, said he is set to finish the job as soon as possible.

He said if possible Santoso would be caught alive. "If we could catch him alive why kill him?. However, Santoso is armed and for him dying in the hands of police would make him a martyr," he said.

Strength of Santoso

An observer said earlier Santoso alias Abu Wardah, who called himself leader of East Indonesia Mujahidin still had around 25-30 followers.

The number was smaller after a recent clash with the security force that left two of his men dead in Rompo, Napu, sub-district of Lore Tengah.

The dead bodies were identified as those of Tiger alias Anto alias Isak from Bima, Nusa Tenggara, and Joko alias Turang Ismail, an ethnic Uighur of China.

A former member of Santoso gang SH caught by police earlier helped police in identifying the bodies.

Earlier on March 15, in a clash between the government security force and the gang of terror in the mountain village of Talabosa, sub-district of Lore Peore, two members of the gang believed from Uighur were shot dead.

On the same day the government security troop found a body also believed to be that of a Santoso follower decaying in the river of Lariang.

The national police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said the East Indonesian Mujahidion had split into one under Santoso and another non loyalists. The general did not say what caused the split.

He said the internal conflict among the Mujahidin is expected to be sharper under the growing pressure of being cornered.

The conflicts badly weakened the group and Santoso might have executed members considered not loyal to him, he said.

Toward the end of February , the government security force found another body also believed to be that of Santosos follower in the mountain village of Torireh, sub-district of Lore Tengah,after a clash .

Earlier , two terrorists and a police members were killed in an exchange of fires between the security force and the terrorists in the village of Sangginora .

Since January 9 this year, the government security force has caught alive two members of the Santoso gang and killed eight others in the Tinombala Operation.

The terrorists were reported to have been short of food and weapons and some of the members began to show disloyalty to Santoso.

They began to question the meaning of their cause.

Central Sulawesi police chief Brig.Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said the security force could not move fast to catch the terrorists.

"The main obstacle we are facing is the difficult terrain," Brig.Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi said.

However, the 2,500 soldiers and policemen have been set to finish the job once and for all, he said. (*)

Reporter: Budi Setiawanto/A. Saragih
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016