SEOUL: Some 100 people were injured, several of them seriously, when rival factions of a religious cult clashed south of Seoul yesterday over control of the group's finances and administration, news reports said.

The violence at a provincial headquarters of Daesoon Jinri Hoe, in Yoju County, involved as many as 4,000 followers, who hurled firebombs and drove heavy construction equipment during the fight, Yonhap News Agency said.

Police mobilized 3,000 riot police troops and fire trucks to separate the two fighting factions.

The clash occurred when 2,000 supporters of faction leader Lee Yoo-Jong attempted to storm the Yoju headquarters, which was occupied by about 700 members of a rival faction.

Lee's supporters, backed by three heavy trucks, hurled hundreds of firebombs as they struggled to force their way into the headquarters, which was barricaded by an earth mover and a truck.

The rivals fought back by hurling bricks and other projectiles.

A similar clash within the cult left 20 people injured in July last year.

Agencies via Xinhua
China Daily 2000/01/07