(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Efforts by the local government to quell violence against Shiites have hit a standstill in Sampang, leaving nearly 200 Shiite Muslims stranded in a local sports center after a deadly Sunni mob attack sent them fleeing from their homes.
Local Sunnis have refused to allow the Shiites to return to their homes in Karang Gayam village, unless they adopt Sunni Muslim teachings, Sampang Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Imam Sanusi told the Antara News Agency.
The beleaguered Shiites declined.
They also protested a government plan to relocate them to a new village, Imam said.
Without a viable solution, 193 Shiites still crowd the Wijaya Kusuma Sports Center, in Sampang, down from the 282 people who originally sought shelter after a mob of 500 Nahdlatul Ulama members killed two community members in a large attack in August.
“The latest data shows that the number of Shia refugees who live in the sport stadium is only 193 people,” Imam said. “Most of the refugees that have left are school age children. Some of them continue their educations outside of Sampang.”
Police arrested five suspects allegedly involved in the attack that the Religious Affairs Ministers has called a “family conflict.”
Before the heartless attacks took place, several non-Shiite Muslims went to the Shiites’ houses and asked, “Are you still Shiites, or have you already repented and forsworn? If you remain Shiites, we will burn your houses and if you oppose us, you will be killed.”
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