Indonesia

Archipelago

Police have named 72 suspects in their crackdown on deliberate land burning after President Prabowo Subianto over the weekend ordered a rapid response to land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

A helicopter drops water on burning forests on Aug. 13 in the Petuk Katimpun area, Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan. (AFP/Reina)

Police have named 72 suspects in their crackdown on deliberate land burning after President Prabowo Subianto ordered over the weekend a rapid response to disasters ravaging parts of the country, including efforts to contain the land fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) on Sunday said police investigations across five provinces in Kalimantan and four in Sumatra found evidence suggesting that fires detected through satellite-monitored hot spots had been deliberately set by the suspects.