JAKARTA ~Â Some 60,000 extra police are to be deployed as the country gears up for celebrations to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan next week, police said.
National police spokesman Iman Haryatna said the police would particularly focus on the heavily populated island of Java, Bali and Sumatra’s Lampung province.
“The troops will not only patrol these areas in anticipation of road accidents but also other security threats including terror threats, even though the probability is low …,” he said.
Additional troops will also be deployed to lower priority areas, including the rest of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and West Nusa Tenggara, Haryatna told a press briefing.
Every year millions of Indonesians head home on overcrowded buses, trains, ships and planes to celebrate the holiday with their families.
Muslims consider Idul Fitri, which falls at the end of Ramadan, a day of victory over worldly passion. Families visit neighbors and relatives to ask for each other’s forgiveness for past mistakes.