At least three people were killed and five others were injured in Indonesia after protesters set fire to a regional parliament building, authorities said on Saturday, marking the first major test for President Prabowo Subianto’s new government.
The country’s disaster management agency said in a statement that the cause of the fatalities remained unclear following the blaze on Friday evening in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province.
Acording to the Antara news agency, the dead victims allegedly had been trapped in the burning building. The disaster agency said two of the injuries resulted from people jumping out of the building.
Protests erupted in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, this week over lawmakers’ salaries and escalated on Friday after a police armored vehicle fatally struck Affan Kurniawan, a ride-hailing driver. Protestors marched to the headquarters of the police mobile brigade in central Jakarta early Friday and some sought to storm the compound.
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Prabowo, who took office in October last year, visited the home of the driver late on Friday, offering condolences to the victims parents and committing to oversee the investigation into his death.
The capital’s police chief, Asep Edi Suheri, confirmed that during the clashes on Thursday an armoured police vehicle hit and killed Kurniawan, who worked for ride-shring services Gojek and Grab. The police chief went on to apologise to the victims family.
The protests on Friday led to the military being deployed in some areas, as people from all walks of life descended on the country’s parliament and police headquarters in Jakarta on Friday. Protestors were reported throwing rocks at the gates while chanting “Killer! Killer!”
As demonstrations continued in major cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta, local media reported isolated looting in Jakarta and damage to several transportation facilities on Friday.
