SINGAPORE: An earthquake of magnitude 6 struck south of the city of Raba on Indonesia’s central island of Sumbawa on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
There was no immediate tsunami warning or reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which hit at a depth of 25 km (16 miles) about 219 km (136 miles) south of Raba in the east of Sumbawa, which forms part of West Nusa Tenggara province.
The USGS had first put the quake magnitude at 6.1. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said on its website there was no current warning in effect.
Indonesia is a disaster-prone archipelago that straddles the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire.” It suffered its deadliest year in more than a decade in 2018 as a series of earthquakes and tsunamis killed more than 3,000 people.
About 430 people were killed, with at least 159 missing, after a tsunami off the west coast of Java during the Christmas season evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake on Dec. 26, 2004.
That disaster killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Magnitude 6 quake hits Indonesia, no immediate reports of damage
Magnitude 6 quake hits Indonesia, no immediate reports of damage
- Indonesia is a disaster-prone archipelago that straddles the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
