Indonesia protests erupt after delivery rider death in first major test for Prabowo
The president has ordered an investigation into the Jakarta incident amid growing tensions and outrage
Protests erupted in multiple cities and tensions soared across Indonesia on Friday, a day after a delivery rider was allegedly run over by a police armoured vehicle during clashes between riot police and students protesting against lawmakers’ allowances.
Protesters marched to the headquarters of the police mobile brigade in the capital Jakarta on Friday, and some attempted to storm the compound. Police used water cannons and fired rounds of tear gas to push back the demonstrators, who hurled bottles, rocks and flares at them.
One group of rioters set fire to a five-storey building near the police compound in the Kwitang neighbourhood of central Jakarta, causing several people to be trapped inside. Some students halted their protests to help soldiers and residents rescue those trapped.
Other protesters destroyed traffic signs and other infrastructure, causing traffic to come to a standstill in the area.
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Clashes between rock-throwing demonstrators and riot police also broke out in other cities across the country, including Surabaya, Solo, Yogyakarta, Medan, Makassar, Manado, Bandung and Manokwari in the easternmost Papua region.