JAKARTA - At least two people were killed and 15 injured in fresh riots in Indonesia's religiously-divided eastern city of Ambon on Saturday, hospital staff said.

"Two people have died at this hospital," an administrator at Ambon's Bakti Rahayu Hospital told AFP, refusing to give his name.

"They were wounded by mortar and rockets, fired from a long distance."

There were "many wounded," he added, saying that 15 people were being treated for shrapnel and mortar wounds at Bakti Rahayu Hospital alone.

Another administrator, Yuli, had earlier said that an 18-year old male had died from bomb shrapnel wounds, while two other male youths were being treated for similar wounds. All three were Christians, she said.

A blast erupted during clashes in the city's Trikora district earlier Saturday, the state Antara newsagency reported.

Local police contacted by telephone have refused to comment.

Television footage broadcast on the Metro-TV network showed crowds throwing rocks at each other in the streets and snipers on rooftops.

Saturday's violence is the latest in a series of incidents since early April to undermine a February peace pact.