At least nine people died yesterday after troops opened fire on protesters outside Indonesia's parliament in the worst violence since the fall of President Suharto six months ago.
The main avenues leading to the parliament building in Jakarta turned into a battlefield last night with the continuous crackle of gunfire as troops fought running battles with thousands of students trying to halt a session of the nation's highest legislative body.
Amid hails of rubber bullets and tear-gas and blasts from water cannon, demonstrators hurled uprooted street signs at security forces and set branches on fire in the middle of Jalan Sudirman, the city's main thoroughfare.
Volleys of gunfire rang out as President B.J. Habibie, who called the four-day special session of the People's Consultative Assembly, (MPR) to prepare for elections, declared the body's job completed.
A grim-faced Mr Habibie signed 12 draft decrees into law, including one that allowed the military to stay in parliament and continue their dominant role in politics. The students have repeatedly called for the army to withdraw from political life.
Yesterday's casualties brought the death toll in two days to 11, with an estimated 200 injured. One of the victims was a policeman, who was reportedly killed in an accident, and one a civilian recruited by the army who was lynched by civilians.
Late last night students and police agreed an uneasy truce. Students came out of a university along the street with their hands up, pleading for calm.
Earlier, in a televised address to the MPR, Mr Habibie had expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the violence.
The US State Department urged restraint and said that the Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, still planned to visit next week, following an APEC conference in Kuala Lumpur.
An Indonesian marine was shot early today near the university in central Jakarta. there are growing signs of a split within the military with the marines supporting students against the police and the army strategic command.