Five rebels killed in armed clashes in Aceh<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Security personnel were engaged in two
\nseparate gunfights with members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
\nin Pidie and Bireun regencies on Tuesday morning, leaving at
\nleast five rebels dead and five soldiers injured.<\/p>\n
The clashes resulted from the TNI campaign to capture GAM
\nCommander Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie which began on Sunday. The
\nrebel leader is accused of organizing a series of ambushes on the
\nmilitary.<\/p>\n
A GAM spokesman recently told Serambi Indonesia local daily
\nthat Abdullah was in hiding in the northern part of the restive
\nprovince. Other sources said Abdullah was residing in Pidie,
\ndubbed one of the armed group's strongholds.<\/p>\n
In Pidie, the exchange of fire lasted almost three hours in
\nGlumpang Putong village in Meureudu district, four kilometers
\nfrom the highway linking Banda Aceh and Medan.<\/p>\n
A truck and a pickup truck belonging to the military were
\ndestroyed by a grenade blast during the attack waged by some 20
\narmed rebels.<\/p>\n
According to Pidie Military chief Lt. Col. Iskandar M.S., five
\nmilitary personnel injured in the gunfight were being treated at
\nLilawangsa Military Hospital in Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
The injured were identified as First Lt. Jarot Edi Purwanto,
\nPvt. Yesias, Pvt. Amiluddin, Pvt. I Gede Astama and Second
\nCorporal Toib.<\/p>\n
Iskandar claimed that two GAM members were shot dead in the
\nfray. \"We continue to lay siege to several GAM posts here,\"
\nIskandar said.<\/p>\n
Locals said two residents, identified as M. Husein, 35 and
\nSyamaun Achmad, 38, were missing after the unrest. Glumpang
\nPutong village chief Abdul Wahab Gantoe, 58, was reportedly
\nbeaten by troops for trying to flee the area.<\/p>\n
\"The soldiers were upset by Abdul's reluctance to protect his
\npeople during the clash,\" a local said.<\/p>\n
Abdul was treated at the Meureudu community health post.<\/p>\n
Three hours later, a group of Police Mobile Brigade officers
\nwere attacked by six armed rebels riding three motorbikes in Pulo
\nLawang village in Jeumpa district, Bireun regency.<\/p>\n
\"Three rebels were killed in the gunfight while three others
\nescaped to the jungle,\" North Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Syafei
\nAksal said. Two of the three were identified as Amiruddin Daud,
\none of GAM's trainers, and Sudirman, but the third corpse was not
\nidentified.<\/p>\n
Police seized an AK 47 semiautomatic rifle, a homemade gun and
\ntwo Honda GL Pro motorbikes from the rebels.<\/p>\n
Separately, hundreds of villagers in the Jiemjiem area in
\nPidie district fled into the jungle and nearby mosques on Tuesday
\nafter some 200 security personnel launched a sweep of a rebel
\ncamp there earlier on Monday.<\/p>\n
In Banda Aceh, a group of 44 humanitarian volunteers continued
\ntheir hunger strike on Tuesday for a fourth successive day. The
\nprotesters demanded a security guarantee in carrying out their
\nhumanitarian activities.<\/p>\n
Aceh Police chief Brig. Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman said in his
\nvisit to the group on Tuesday that he shared their concern, but
\ncould not comply with their demand.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot even guarantee the safety of our members in the
\nfield,\" he said. (50\/51\/edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/five-rebels-killed-in-armed-clashes-in-aceh-1447893297",
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