May 23, 2019, 09:08 AM 
Eyewitness footage from the riots taking place in Jakarta since May 21 night are all over social media.
They showed rioters clashing with police over the recent Indonesian presidential election results, following Joko "Jokowi" Widodo being declared the winner for a second term in office.
It was reported that six people have died and more than 200 people have been injured.
Pelting objects and slingshots
One video posted by Renae Henry, an Australian journalist, showed the extent of rioting on the streets as rioters clashed with police.
Frightening stuff. Rioters film themselves torching cars, pelting and slingshotting objects. One ends up lying injured on the street #jakarta pic.twitter.com/8IQ4ubvYGg
— Renae Henry (@renaehenry9) May 22, 2019
In the video, rioters could be seen filming as they pelted objects at unseen opponents in the distance.
There were also vehicles on fire in the background as loud bangs could be heard in the distance.
Another rioter was using a slingshot.
The video then pans around to show a whole crowd of people throwing objects as well.
Towards the end of the video, one rioter appeared to have been injured as he slumped on the street.
Other rioters rushed to his aid, but quickly flee leaving the fallen man behind.
Riot police beating demonstrators
Another video showed police with riot shields beating demonstrators with large sticks.
Police beat People who were Demonstrating at Election Building in Jakarta ... pic.twitter.com/mNQKXjM11G
— ๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐ฆ๐ฃ ๐ธ๐๐๐ โค๏ธ ๐ฎ๐ฉ (@Medina_adha) May 22, 2019
One demonstrator appeared to run away before being felled by a policeman.
He is then led away while being held in a headlock.
A video shared by a supporter of Prabowo Subianto, the losing candidate in the election, showed protestors running amidst shouting and loud bangs.
Bentrok antara petugas dan warga di kawasan Tenabang tepatnya depan Masjid Al Makmur Tenabang Jakarta Pusat malam tadi.#pdcebong pic.twitter.com/UbfgQqQaVG
— PUTRA MELAYU (@ardi_riau) May 21, 2019
Riots "by design"
According to The Straits Times, Inspector-General Mohammad Iqbal has said that the riots were not spontaneous, but โby designโ.
He also added that envelopes containing money had been seized, although no further details were given.
Indonesian authorities have limited the use of social media in Indonesia in order to slow the spread of videos and pictures of the riots and to calm the situation.
This was after hoax messages have been spread in Jakarta claiming the mobile police force was made up of people sent from China.
It was claimed these individuals could not speak the native language of Indonesians and looked like they had fair skin and slanted eyes.
These measures are expected to stay in place over the next two to three days.
Top image screenshot from Renae Henry Twitter
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