Several hundred troops have been deployed by the Indonesian government to the city of Ambon which has seen an outbreak of sectarian violence.  Clashes in the eastern city, capital of Maluku Province, have injured between 80 and 150 people and resulted in five fatalities.

The violence exploded on Sunday in the wake of rumours blaming Christians for the death of a motorcycle taxi driver whom police have claimed died in a traffic accident.  Rumours were circulated by text message with the situation coming to a head as rival groups clashed at the funeral of Darvin Saiman, the victim.

This, however, is not the first time that Ambon has witnessed sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians.  Between 1999 and 2002, more than 9000 people were killed in religious violence, but the area has been relatively peaceful since then.