Rioters ransacked Batang Kumuh village in Rokan Hulu regency, Riau province, on Thursday night, burning 10 houses and injuring three residents.
"The attackers were employees of plantation company PT Torganda. They claimed the villagers were occupying land belonging to the company," chairman of the Palm Oil Farmers Union, M. Nasir Sihotang, told The Jakarta Post on Friday, adding the situation in the village, home to 300 families, was still tense.
Nasir claimed there had been thousands of attackers. He added many of the villagers fled into the forest.
"They ran away because they were outnumbered. We don't know what their current condition is now," he said.
He added the attackers arrived at the village at about 8 p.m. and forced 10 families to leave their homes.
Using sharp weapons, the attackers then stabbed villagers who tried to fight them, Nasir went on, adding that one villager was shot in the leg.
He said the attackers then set 10 houses on fire before leaving the village at about 11 p.m.
The injured villagers were taken to a nearby hospital in Padangsidempuan, North Sumatra.
"They were taken to the Padangsidempuan hospital because it's closer than the hospital in *provincial capital* Pekanbaru," Nasir said.
"The road to Padangsidempuan is better than that to Pekanbaru."
According to Nasir, the land dispute arose when a villager sold 6,000 hectares of land to PT Torganda two months ago.
The company has since then frequently attempted to evict villagers who have resided there for years, he claimed.
"Before the attack last night, the company had burned 20 sheds that residents had already owned for years. The villagers still refused to leave the land," he said.
Villagers have been growing oil palm trees on the land for years, he went on.
He said his union had asked the North Sumatra Police to safeguard the village in the wake of the first attack.
"But the attackers knew the weak point, so they attacked another part of the village, which was not guarded," he said.
Rokan Hulu Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hersadwi Rusdiyono denied there had been any attack on the village.
"Yes, there was a burning. But the burning was of sheds of illegal occupiers, not houses, and it was 10 kilometers away from Batang Kumuh village," he said.
He added police had not registered any casualties among villagers.
He said the site of the alleged attack belonged to PT Torganda, in South Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra.
"But villagers believe the land belongs to them," Hersadwi said.
"There is no clear decision from the government whether the land lies in Rokan Hulu regency or South Tapanuli regency."
He added he had deployed officers to the area.
"We'll investigate the case impartially," he pledged.
No one from PT Torganda was available for comment.
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