Aceh rebels kill five soldiers, injure 20 others<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A group of separatist rebels shot five anti-riot
\ntroop personnel dead and injured a score of others on Monday in a
\ndawn ambush in Reng Krueng village in Pidie regency, 170
\nkilometers east of the provincial capital Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
The clash took place amid attempts to initiate a peace
\nprocess, with a number of Acehnese figures, including separatist
\nmovement leaders in exile, planning a meeting in Bangkok on July
\n24 and July 25.<\/p>\n
The chief of Lilawangsa Military Command overseeing North
\nAceh, East Aceh and Pidie regencies, Col. Syafnil Armen, told a
\nnews conference that a group of at least 10 rebels killed
\nprivates U. Pasaribu, Sugianto, Hasibuan and Agus during the
\nshoot-out. The armed fight also left 10 soldiers severely
\nwounded, while 10 others suffered minor injuries.<\/p>\n
The troops, riding on a truck, were on their way back to their
\npost in Sigli, the capital of Pidie, after aiding their friends
\nwhose truck overturned on a sharp bend late on Sunday. Two
\nsoldiers were injured in the accident.<\/p>\n
Syafnil declined to identify those who were injured in the
\ngunbattle, which lasted about 30 minutes. They are now being
\ntreated at a military hospital in Lhokseumawe and the Sigli state
\nhospital.<\/p>\n
The rebel group escaped into nearby forests after the ambush.
\nFatalities on their side are unknown, Syafnil said.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a media conference here on Monday, Aceh Police
\nchief Col. Bahrumsyah labeled the separatist rebels "criminals"
\nand said the security authorities "would pursue justice for their
\nunlawful deeds".<\/p>\n
He also alleged the group to have purchased weapons through
\nselling marijuana.<\/p>\n
An angry Indonesian Military Chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen.
\nSugiono called for tougher measures against the rebel groups,
\nreferring to their actions as "brutal acts which endanger the
\nnational unity".<\/p>\n
Separately, Acehnese figure Hasballah M. Saad said the planned
\nexclusive Bangkok meeting among Aceh natives was aimed at putting
\nan end to violence in the province.<\/p>\n
Hasballah told The Jakarta Post that Hasan Tiro, an Aceh
\nresistance leader living in Sweden, and Carmel Budihardjo have
\nconfirmed their participation in the two-day meeting.<\/p>\n
Aceh Governor Syamsudin Mahmud, Sidney Jones of the Human
\nRights Watch in Malaysia and Hasballah himself would also attend
\nthe meeting.<\/p>\n
"The most important thing is that we will sit together and
\nlisten to one another in a bid to help calm down the tension and
\nstop the continued killings in Aceh," Hasballah said.<\/p>\n
"The longer the tension continues the more the people will
\nsuffer," he said.<\/p>\n
Hasbalah warned that despite the mounting tension, the
\nAcehnese people would never give up to the use of violence
\nexerted by the security authorities.<\/p>\n
Several Aceh leaders have suggested the withdrawal of security
\npersonnel from troubled Aceh. But Indonesian Military Commander
\nGen. Wiranto insisted that the anti-riot troops would remain to
\nrestore order.<\/p>\n
Also on Monday, Minister of Transportation Giri Suseno
\nHadihardjono announced that the government would fulfill some of
\nthe promises made to the people of Aceh during President B.J.
\nHabibie's visit in March.<\/p>\n
Giri said the government would start building 15 kilometers of
\na 486-kilometer railway linking Banda Aceh and Medan in North
\nSumatra. The government plans also to extend the runway of the
\nIskandar Muda airport in the provincial capital to enable haj
\npilgrims to fly directly to Jedda in Saudi Arabia in March.
\n(rms\/prb)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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