Believers seeking refuge in a church are the latest to have been massacred, during bitter scenes of unrest between the Muslim and Christian communities.

Some observers say the province is being used as a proving ground by Islamic extremists bent on turning the whole of Indonesia into a militant Islamist state. Their strategy, it is claimed, is to provoke Christians into retaliating against Muslim attackers being whipped up by extremists, with the aim of fomenting a holy war intended to radicalise the world's largest Islamic nation - Indonesia.

In one of the latest incidents, soldiers opened fire on more than 20 Christians sheltering from a rampaging mob inside the Protestant Church in the Galala area. According to witnesses, the soldiers - including members of the elite Kostrad Strategic Forces - killed the Christians, hacked their bodies to pieces and set fire to them in the streets.

More Christians were killed the following day in clashes between factions armed with makeshift weapons, including home-made bombs, bows and arrows and spears. More than 30,000 people fled the city, many taking refuge in churches and mosques. Witnesses spoke of smoke rising from the burning homes of Christians as members of the military stood back and looked on - a pattern being repeated in the largely Christian East Timor region of Indonesia.

The massacre drives up the death toll to an estimated 500 since the conflict was, some claim, deliberately triggered off in January. For centuries, Christians and Muslims have lived in relative harmony in Ambon, the capital of the Moluccas - otherwise known as the spice islands. The Protestant church, founded in 1536, is said to be the oldest in Asia. The population of 400,000 is divided equally between Christians and Muslims. But the balance between the two communities appears to have been deliberately tipped in late January when extremists stirred up Muslim rioters. They killed and chopped up the bodies of 15 Christians in the village of Benteng Karang and attacked a Bible Study group, killing a further six believers. In all, 13 churches and two schools were burnt.
However the inter-religious conflict in Ambon is a complex situation. Some Christians have retaliated with violence thus providing an excuse for further violence. A case in question was on July 25, when the congregation of Silo church was pelted with stones. Christian youths fought back and 50 died in the ensuing violence. These have tended to be isolated incidents committed by a small minority. Many moderate Muslims are opposing the calls for a jihad and some have risked their lives to try to help the Christians. Whilst units of armed forces have participated in the atrocities against Christians, there are also reports of Navy Marine units, which are generally seen as more impartial, protecting Christians against violence. The fact remains though that the majority of the violence is targeted against the Christians in what appears to be an orchestrated campaign of terror by forces outside Ambon. The conflict has left an estimated 60,000 people, the majority of whom are Christians, without homes.

A joint statement by Protestant and Catholic churches in Ambon reports that Christians have become the target for organised attacks by extremists designed to deliberately create inter-religious conflicts. They claim the intervention of the Indonesian armed forces is making matters worse: Many members of [the armed forces] have lost their neutrality. Security personnel have attacked and shot dead Christians in their own communities, they have allowed Muslims to burn residential houses of Christians and loot private property and they say orders to shoot on sight have been carried out in a one-sided manner. When Muslim crowds attacked in an organised way, they were not stopped. But when Christians reacted in self-defence they were brutally shot at with the intention to kill.

In May, attempts were made to heal the situation. A torch bearing a flame of hope and peace was paraded onto a city field. Thousands of Muslims and Christians gathered to repent of the bitter conflict and committed themselves to reconciliation and to rebuild the community. But during the weeks that followed, the extremists' succeeded in dividing the community further. By August, Christian and Muslim homes alike were being destroyed and burnt down. Muslims were on the streets proclaiming jihad, and Christians with large wooden crosses were declaring themselves to be soldiers of Christ. Armed Muslims in cars were driving through Christian areas shooting believers.

Most of the shops have now been destroyed. People are too afraid to leave their homes. Supplies of food and fuel are running out but the government maintains that there is no necessity for external aid to Ambon. Many Christians fear they will face death either by violence or slow starvation. The Moderator of the Protestant Church in Maluku, the Rev Sammy Titaley, says: 'We are afraid that Ambon will become the killing fields of Christians by Muslims backed up by the soldiers.' The Rev John Barr, the Indonesian area secretary of the Uniting Church in Australia, believes the extremists are being armed and supported by some sections of the Indonesian military. 'Ambon is being subjected to the actions of extremists who are ideologically committed to an Islamic state.'

A team of church lawyers representing Catholic and Protestant churches have called on the United Nations and United States President Bill Clinton to send in investigating teams.

CSW, together with Christians in Ambon, are calling for the presence of international human rights observers in order to make an impartial assessment of the situation. The Christians are hoping that this will result in a peace-keeping force being sent to Ambon. CSW is also calling on the Indonesian government to grant unrestricted access for humanitarian aid organisations. Equally the Indonesian authorities should immediately investigate reports of army complicity in the atrocities committed in Ambon and bring those responsible to justice.