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Palu, Central Sulawesi. Police in Indonesia say they have launched an investigation into the deaths of two demonstrators and wounding of five others, allegedly by police officers during an attack on the Tiaka oil field in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, over the weekend.

“We have to see if the actions taken by our officers were right or wrong,” Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig. Gen. Dewa Parsana said, adding that the investigation would be conducted by an independent monitoring team.

“If the actions met the National Police’s procedures, then the officers will not be sanctioned but if it turns out they violated procedures, we will give strict punishments,” Dewa said.

Indonesian police on Tuesday said officers killed two people and wounded five others when they opened fire on protesters who had taken over an oil well.

Officers arrested 23 people over the riots on Tiaka island, which began on Saturday and escalated on Monday, Dewa told reporters.

Armed with machetes, sickles and Molotov cocktails, hundreds of people attacked the well belonging to state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina and Medco E&P Tomori.

They held two employees, a soldier and two policemen hostage but later released them, Parsana said.

“Police tried to negotiate with the people but they refused to listen,” he said, adding that officers opened fire as a “last resort.”

The protesters were complaining that the companies had failed to honour promises such as providing electricity and jobs to local residents.

Central Sulawesi has been the scene of sporadic unrest since violence between Muslims and Christians claimed around 1,000 lives in 2000 and 2001.

A government brokered peace deal came into force in December 2001.

The attack by villagers on the Tiaka oil field in Central Sulawesi on the weekend has resulted in two deaths, brought production to a halt and prompted the Navy to deploy two ships to the area, officials said.

Laila, a doctor at the nearby Luwuk General Hospital, said two of the protesters had died in the clashes. She said the first casualty, a villager identified as Yurifin, died on Monday, while the second, identified as Marten, died on Tuesday from multiple gunshot wounds.

The attack on the site in Tiaka Island began on Saturday when a group of about 30 protesters arrived to demand that the operator make good on promises to improve the welfare of residents in Kolo Bawah village.

The protesters launched their assault via wooden boats with Molotov cocktails and machetes. Riot police managed to restore order on Sunday, before a resurgence in attacks on Monday.

Twenty three people had been named as suspects in the attack, Dewa said. He added police were also on the trail of several other individuals believed to have stolen a firearm from an officer during the melee.

JG/AP