REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, POSO -- A battalion of the Quick Response Striking Force (PPRC) will remain in Poso District, Central Sulawesi Province, to make the local community feel safe, stated Chief of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) General Moeldoko.
"I have reported it to President Joko Widodo. If needed, the PPRC personnel will stay here to continue the operations with the police personnel. The president has agreed," General Moeldoko noted here Tuesday.
Moeldoko was in Poso district, Central Sulawesi, on Tuesday, to observe a military exercise being conducted by the PPRC.
General Moeldoko was accompanied by Army Chief of Staff General Gatot Nurmantyo and Naval Chief of Staff Admiral Ade Supandi, among several others.
General Moeldoko remarked that the PPRC exercise is being held to anticipate the emergence of radical groups in Indonesia.
"The TNI and government will not allow radicalism to develop in Indonesia, including ISIS to exist in Indonesia. We have seen that there is a potential for such an ideology to spread in Poso. Therefore, we have selected Poso as the venue for holding the PPRC exercise," he remarked.
During the exercise, thousands of military personnel attempted to capture terrorists who wanted to seize control of the Southeast Asian countries.
The military officers surrounded and attacked the terrorists' bases in a mountainous and coastal area.
The TNI deploys warships and jet fighters such as F16s to attack the terrorists.
In reality, a mountain named Mount Biru is a hideout for the Santoso- and Daeng Koro-led radical groups.
"I suspect that the members of radical groups feel at ease in Poso. I am worried that those going to Iraq and Syria, following their return to Indonesia, will make Poso as their headquarters," he stated.
Earlier, Moeldoko revealed that the TNI did not plan on carrying out military operations in Poso to arrest the terrorists suspected to be hiding in the region.
He recently informed newsmen that the joint TNI forces would only conduct combat training in the forest and sea territories of Poso.
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