In the early morning of September 27, 50 armed Tidungs began searching youth gang members involved in the incidents.
An attempt to mediate the dispute in the late night of Monday, September 27 failed because leading ethnic figures were already massed on the field.
[10] On Tuesday, September 28, Police finally captured two of the youth gang members involved in Abdullah's death, but tension had already escalated and civilians fled into refugee camps.
[10] During a second day of tension, the night of Tuesday, September 28, a deadly clash finally occurred between hundreds of people from both ethnic groups.
The Head of the Tarakan Ulama Council, Syamsi Sarman called for peace and visited victims' families to express condolences.
[14] The President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urged all parties to work together comprehensively to settle the inter-community dispute.
[2] Minister of Interior Gamawan Fauzi tried to calm the masses by reminding them that the riot was originally an ordinary criminal incident, which accidentally involved two different ethnic groups.
Law enforcement performance was criticized during the riot, with observers noting that the clashes would have ended sooner had the police and military responded more promptly.
[12] Police were also criticized for their management of the conflict, only securing the original scuffle area and failing to handle congregating groups in other places.
The peace was facilitated by the Government, especially East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek and concluded by representatives of both Tidung and Bugis people.
[4] Under the peace accord, the two ethnic groups agreed to jointly hold an Idul Fitri celebration (usually a holiday that marks the end of Ramadan).
Conditions were almost back to normal on Thursday, September 30 when banks, markets and shops reopened and residents returned from refugee camps.