A powerful bomb killed two people and wounded 57 in a Christian district of Indonesia's eastern Ambon city today, triggering a violent protest by thousands of residents, police and witnesses said.
The blast occurred in the late morning, sparking panic and anger among Christians and prompting thousands to converge on the nearby governor's office and torch parts of the complex, witnesses said.
Police fired warning shots over the heads of the protesters, who eventually dispersed through the ravaged city of 400,000 people, 2,300 km east of Jakarta.
Residents said parts of Ambon were still tense by late afternoon, with hundreds of police at the explosion site, but traffic had returned to normal.
The bomb threw into question a landmark peace pact signed in February between Muslims and Christians aimed at ending three years of murderous clashes.
Ambon is the main hub of the Moluccas islands, where at least 5,000 people have been killed during a cycle of violence that has blighted the image of the world's most populous Muslim nation. The islands have been fairly calm since the February pact took effect.