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Landslides disrupt Operation Tinombala
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Isolated – Personnel from the Operation Tinombala Task Force walk on the trans-Napu road on Tuesday.
(thejakartapost.com/Ruslan Sangadji)
H
eavy rain on Monday evening over Lembah Napu, which covers the North Lore, East Lore, Lore Peore and Central Lore districts, in Poso, Central Sulawesi, caused landslides in several areas, cutting off access to and from the area.
The worst landslides occurred in the Malome hills around Sedoa village, North Lore district. Four landslides have been recorded in Malome. The area includes the one and only road connecting Palu to Wuasa village, the capital of North Lore district. North Lore is now at the center of Operation Tinombala. The security operation is pursuing members of the East Indonesia Mujahiddin (MIT) terror group led by Santoso, alias Abu Jandal.
People passing through Lembah Napu could not continue on their way. They were forced to park their vehicles in between landslides.
A vehicle transporting vegetables was buried by a landslide. The driver and his assistant survived the incident.
The landslides, which cut off the trans-Napu route, have hampered the mobility of local residents who want to travel to Palu and Napu and also the mobilization of personnel and logistics supplies for Operation Tinombala.
The North Lore administration is striving to bring in heavy equipment to clear the landslide material blocking road access in the district. As of Tuesday evening, none of the equipment had arrived in the location. Local residents were forced to clear the road using shovels.
Landslides have also cut electricity cables, causing total blackouts in the areas around Lembah Napu. Several officials from the Poso-chapter of state-owned electricity company PLN have been dispatched to several locations to repair electricity connections.
Arnold Teggoli, 43, a local resident in Sedoa village, said the first landslide occurred at around 10 p.m., local time, on Monday. The second landslide occurred in Sedoa village at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, but at a different location.
“We cannot go anywhere unless the landslide material is removed from the road,” said Arnold.
During Operation Tinombala, he said, local residents were afraid to go to their farms and so most of them had sought alternative jobs in Palu. Now, however, they could not go anywhere as landslides had cut road access to the city.
North Lore district head Yanson Tokare said it was impossible to only depend on local residents to clean up the roads.
“We have contacted the Poso Public Works Agency and asked them to give us heavy equipment to clear the roads but no equipment has been sent here,” said Yanson. (ebf)
