Muslim-majority Indonesia will deploy 192,000 security personnel ahead of Christmas to guard Christians and those of other faiths against jihadists.
The Southeast Asian archipelago of 260 million has significant numbers of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists who have been targeted by radical Islamist groups.
On Tuesday, authorities said the police and military personnel would be deployed to secure Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations across the country - including in easternmost Papua, a predominantly Christian region.
The deployment, which comes after a recent spate of attacks, is more than the 167,000 personnel deployed last year.
'As many as 10,000 personnel will be deployed in Jakarta' alone, said National Police spokesman Argo Yuwono.
'Based on intelligence data, there are potential risks... so we're taking preventive measures but we are also ready to take proactive action,' he added. [Daily Mail] Read more
