Indonesia: Police detains 7 after attacks on Buddhist temples

The seven suspects were a part of a mob that damaged at least three temples in Tanjung Balai town, near Medan.

Indonesian authorities detained seven suspects in northern Sumatra Island on Saturday for allegedly attacking several Buddhist temples.

A spokeswoman for the North Sumatra provincial police said the suspects were a part of a mob that damaged at least three temples in Tanjung Balai town, near Medan, the fourth-biggest city of Indonesia.

They also destructed a few other properties in the town but no one was injured.

Although Indonesia is a Muslim-majority nation but it has a colossal ethnic Chinese minority, including Buddhists. The history of anti-Chinese violence is also quite popular in the country.

But the police said the attack was not aimed at the Chinese community.

"This was just a (dispute between) individuals," the North Sumatra Police spokeswoman Rina Sari Ginting told Reuters.

She added that the situation was now under complete control.

The country has witnessed many such sporadic attacks on religious minorities by Muslim hardliners.

The authorities are working towards this issue to crack down on violent incidents in the country.

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