At least 683 rebels killed in Aceh<\/p>\n
Agencies, Jakarta<\/p>\n
At least 683 separatist rebels have been killed in Aceh and 1,560
\nothers have been arrested or surrendered since a massive
\noperation to crush the guerrillas was launched three months ago,
\na military spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Navy Col. Ditya Sudarsono, a military spokesman in the
\nprovincial capital of Banda Aceh, said on Thursday a total of 304
\nweapons had also been seized from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM),
\nand 43 soldiers and 12 police had died since May 19.<\/p>\n
An estimated 30,000 troops and 10,000 police are battling a
\nguerrilla force originally estimated at 5,000 in the energy-rich
\nprovince on Sumatra island, where GAM has been fighting for
\nindependence since 1976. Over 10,000 people, mostly innocent
\ncivilians, have been killed since then.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists and some other groups have questioned
\nthe military figures for rebel deaths.<\/p>\n
One rights group in the province said on Monday almost 300
\ncivilians were killed in the first two months of the operation
\nalone. The Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) did not say
\nwhich side it believes is responsible.<\/p>\n
An international think tank, in a report last month, said the
\nmilitary assault was only alienating ordinary Acehnese and
\nfueling support for GAM.<\/p>\n
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group also questioned
\nmilitary figures for the rebel dead, saying there was no way to
\nverify whether these were really guerrillas.<\/p>\n
Kusnanto Anggoro, of the Centre for Strategic and
\nInternational Studies, said on Tuesday the small number of
\nfirearms seized compared to the total number of reported captured
\nor killed GAM members showed the TNI had wrongly perceived
\ncivilians as combatants.<\/p>\n
\"If the military manages to seize only 200 firearms but the
\nnumber of captured GAM members reaches almost 2,000, I suspect
\nthat there are many civilians who have been treated as rebels,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
GAM rebels claimed that most of the victims had been unarmed
\nvillagers, and international human rights groups have accused the
\nmilitary of committing gross rights violations.<\/p>\n
Human rights activists have also pointed to the discrepancy
\nbetween the number of weapons seized and the number of dead and
\ncaptured individuals as evidence that most of the victims were
\nnot armed rebels.<\/p>\n
Washington also has criticized the Army's offensive, saying
\nthe conflict cannot be resolved by the use of military force. The
\nUnited States supported a six-month truce in the province that
\ncollapsed in May.<\/p>\n
Indonesian generals say they need another three months to
\ncrush the rebellion.<\/p>\n
But analysts have cautioned that the war could drag on
\nindefinitely, and have criticized President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri for not having an exit strategy and for alienating
\nmany Acehnese by relying exclusively on force to solve the issue.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, GAM operational leader for Seulimun, Aceh Besar,
\nHusaini, has been killed in a gunfight with government troops.<\/p>\n
The chief of the Aceh Besar Military Command, Lt. Col. Djoko
\nWarsito, said Husaini had been the target of operations.<\/p>\n
After receiving information from local residents on the
\nwhereabouts of Husaini, government troops from the 305 Infantry
\nBattalion moved in and saw Husaini walking alone at about 12 p.m.
\non Wednesday, Djoko said.<\/p>\n
Husaini refused to surrender and attempted to flee, firing at
\ntroops. He was killed after a short gunfight, he said.<\/p>\n
The troops confiscated an FN pistol and 26 rounds of
\nammunition.<\/p>\n
Another suspected separatist rebel, Muzakir, was killed in
\nMontasik in a gunfight after patrolling troops encountered three
\nrebels. Muzakir's colleagues managed to escape.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, a police officer was killed after being abducted
\nfrom his home in Samahani, Kuta Malaka, Aceh Besar.<\/p>\n
Second Brig. Zainal Abidin from the Sibreh Police sector was
\nabducted by 10 suspected rebels at about 11 a.m. after returning
\nhome from his shift, the chief of the police sector, Second Insp.
\nMisbar said.<\/p>",
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