REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN -- North Sumatra Police have brought under control conditions in Tanjungbalai, following a riot that occurred on Friday evening.

The provincial police deployed 100 personnel from Asahan, 30 from Batubara, and 75 personnel from the police mobile brigade from Tebing Tinggi to end the riot in Tanjungbalai, spokesperson of the North Sumatra Police Senior Commissioner Rina Sari Ginting said here on Saturday.

Military personnel from the 0208/Asahan Military District Command (Kodim) and Tanjungbalai Naval Base were also called to assist in Tanjungbalai.

"On Saturday morning, the situation in Tanjungbalai is already stable. The local residents have been urged to remain calm and not be easily provoked," she said.

Also, authorities are receiving assistance from local prominent religious and traditional figures to calm the situation.

Hundreds of people were involved in the riot, which saw several and pagodas and monasteries set on fire. The mob was dispersed at around 4:30 a.m. local time, according to police.

Meanwhile, security personnel and administration authorities are still investigating the incident.

There is no official explanation about the cause of the riot. But unconfirmed reports said the incident broke out after a Chinese-descent resident went to a mosque located in front of his house and angrily asked for the ending of azan (the call for Islamic prayers), which was going on at the time.

The news spread and provoked hundreds of local inhabitants to riot.

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