Jakarta - Indonesia will boost security nationwide ahead of
Eid al-Fitr, the celebrations marking the end of the Muslim fasting
month of Ramadan, when tens of millions of people will be traveling
across the country, officials said Tuesday.
Inspector General Imam Haryatna, chief of the security department
at Indonesia's National Police, said as many as 98,000 police
officers would be deployed across the country for security
operations. Nationwide, there are around 200,000 national police
officers.
Up to 4,881 security posts have been established in addition to
150,000 police posts currently in place across the home-bound
traveller routes, Haryatna said, adding that crowded Java and Bali
islands, and the southern Sumatra province of Lampung are a priority.
Transport ministry officials estimated that nearly 16 million
people are expected to travel to their hometowns across the vast
archipelago nation to see loved ones and celebrate the annual Eid
al-Fitr, which will fall in early October.
Indonesia's second largest Islamic group, Muhammadiyah, has
announced that Eid al-Fitr will fall on October 1-2 while the
Indonesian government has set official leave dates from September 29
until October 6, but authorities expect the exodus of travelers will
begin a week beforehand.
Officers will be assigned to guard public places such as mosques,
bus terminals, railway stations and major highways.
Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, has seen
a string of terrorist attacks committed by Islamic militants and
members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terrorist group linked to
Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.
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