Three beheaded as Borneo violence continues

At least three people have been beheaded on the Indonesian half of Borneo Island as indigenous Dayak gangs continued to hunt for remaining Madurese migrants.

Local doctor Qomaruddin Sukhemi says three severed heads were brought to the hospital in Sampit town on Monday.

He says it appeared that the victims, all migrants from the island of Madura, had been recently killed.

Sampit saw the worst of two weeks of fighting between Dayaks and settlers in which at least 450 people were slaughtered. Many of the victims were beheaded and mutilated in clashes that began on February 18.

Over 70,000 people have been evacuated to Madura and Indonesia's main island of Java. Police say a ship is expected to leave Sampit on Tuesday with around 100 refugees on board.

Madurese began arriving on Borneo in large numbers four decades ago as part of a state-sponsored campaign to relieve Madura of overcrowding.

The Madurese and the Dayaks, the Borneo natives who number about two million, have never mixed well, competing with each other for jobs, land and education.