14 dead, homes burned in Indonesian ethnic clashes

Hundreds of police and soldiers have been dispatched to restore security in western Indonesia after 14 people were killed and dozens wounded in ethnic clashes.

Police Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said Wednesday the three-day clash in Balinuraga village of Lampung province was triggered by minor sexual harassment among young men and girls from the Lampung ethnic group and Balinese descendants on Sumatra island.

Mr. Amar said more than 1,500 police and 500 soldiers were deployed to the area late Tuesday when the fight escalated as angry mobs set alight more than 160 houses and a dozen vehicles.

More than 1,300 villagers have evacuated their homes and moved to a police compound in the provincial capital Bandar Lampung.