Ten Muslims, including an Army soldier, were killed and 50 wounded by shots fired by police mobile brigade troops, said Muslim Al-Fatah mosque official Malik Selang.

"They (the Christians) burned empty houses and accused us of being the perpetrators," Selang told AFP by telephone. The injured Muslims were taken to the Al-Fatah hospital in Ambon, he added.

A local journalist said soldiers also shot and killed at least six Christians. "All of the victims, those killed and wounded, were shot by troops," the journalist said.

A woman manning an aid post at the Maranatha Protestant church said at least 60 Christians were wounded by gunshots. They were being treated at a local Christian hospital. "Some of them may be dead by now," the woman said.

Selang said Christians from the Mardika area threwgasoline bombs at empty houses belonging to other Christians to create the impression that Muslims were setting the fires. But the woman at Maranatha contradicted the statement by saying that the Muslims were first to attack the Christian residences in the morning. They were helped by soldiers armed with grenades, she added.

Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, and its surroundings have been ravaged by Muslim-Christian clashes since the beginning of the year.

The worst riots occurred in January-March and claimed hundreds of lives. Tens of thousands of people have fled to other provinces. More than 550 people have been killed in two waves of violence between Christians and Muslims this year.