REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT) has expressed hope that the Santoso terrorist group would end its guerilla warfare to assure the security of residents in Poso District, Central Sulawesi province.

"We hope they are prepared to come down from the mountain. It is not necessary for them to surrender, but simply get out of the forest for the sake of the residents around the military operation areas," said BNPT Head Tito Karnavian here on Thursday.

Tito said the presence of the Santoso terror group has brought many difficulties to local residents, as a result of the large number of security personnel who were stationed and conducted patrols in the region around the Poso District mountainous area in Central Sulawesi.

However, Tito also said that the members of the Santoso group have been cornered, as they lacked logistics, and many of the group members had been killed in armed clashes with security officers.

"If they love the people, they have to get out of their hideouts. They should be prepared to face the legal process. That's all," noted Tito.

Although they have been cornered, the BNPT will continue working to stop the Santoso group's activities.

The agency did not give a deadline for its target in hunting down guerilla group members. A joint military and police operation, code-named Tinombala Operation, began hunting terrorists on March 1, 2016.

"Based on my experience, we need to maximize our pursuit of the group, and then we will leave, with the will of God," remarked Tito.

He said that the main obstacle in conducting the Tinombala Operation is the condition of the fields, which is quite difficult. There are mountainous and dense forest lands that pose difficulties for the military and police forces.

In the meantime, Central Sulawesi regional police chief Brigadier General Rudy Sufahriadi said last week that the terrorist network, led by Santoso alias Abu Wardah, has been left with only 22 members.

"As of now, there are only 22 people with him, and they are on the wanted list," he declared at a press conference at the National Police Headquarters.

The number of men with Santoso came to be known after two fire fights between the group and the joint task forces involved in Tinombala Operation on May 15 and 17.

Two members of the group died in a 30-minute gunfight in the village of Pantangolemba, Poso Pesisir sub-district in the district of Poso, Central Sulawesi, on May 15.

On May 17, a gun fight erupted when the Tinombala team was evacuating the bodies of those who had died on May 15.

"Community members discovered a half-buried body," he said.

Rudy explained that the body had deteriorated and a DNA test would be needed to identify it.

The fact that the front against the terror group was wide and that the group was deploying guerrilla tactics was posing operational problems, adding that in a guerrilla war, the smaller the number of rebels, the more difficult they are to stop, he argued.

"We are fighting an anti-guerrilla war with our members splitting themselves in groups. We also keep changing our tactics. So far, we have caught 15 members from the group," he noted.

Rudy underlined that he has already issued a declaration, appealing to Santoso and his members to surrender to avoid additional bloodshed.

"We are not proud to shoot terrorists. If they decide to surrender, we would be ready to receive them. If they do not do so, we would do anything under the existing procedures to arrest them," he warned.

The Tinombala Operation to arrest Santoso and his followers in Poso, Central Sulawesi, will continue until August 8, 2016. 

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika