Kopassus readied to quell Aceh rebels<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Army Special Force (Kopassus) commander Maj.
\nGen. Amirul Isnaeni said on Monday that the force was ready to
\ndispatch its troops to the troubled Aceh province in an effort to
\nsuppress the rebels.<\/p>\n
"Since there has not been any request from the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) headquarters to Kopassus ... all we can do right
\nnow is prepare our troops, in case they are required to go there
\n(Aceh) at any time," Amirul told a press conference after
\npresiding over a ceremony commemorating the force's 49th
\nanniversary.<\/p>\n
"Kopassus, however, has been providing training in guerrilla
\nwarfare to about 15 companies of the Army's infantry at Kopassus'
\neducation unit (in Batujajar, Bandung). The purpose of the
\ntraining is to prepare the troops for Aceh," Amirul said.<\/p>\n
Kopassus has been training "special troops" for dispatch to
\nAceh, namely Rajawali (Hawk) II Team, consisting of soldiers
\nselected from the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad)'s
\nsecond division based in Malang, East Java, as well as troops
\nfrom West Java's Siliwangi Military Command and Jakarta Military
\nCommand.<\/p>\n
Some of the troops have also been recruited from Central Java
\nDiponegoro Military Command's crack troops, the Banteng (wild
\nbull) Raiders.<\/p>\n
They have been receiving training in various disciplines,
\nincluding anti-guerrilla warfare, street combat, residential
\ncombat, densely-populated residential combat, ambush strategies,
\nand shoot to kill techniques.<\/p>\n
Asked whether Kopassus has conducted intelligence activities
\nin Aceh, as revealed by Minister of Defense Mahfud MD, Amirul
\nsaid: "The force is not to hold any intelligence activities in
\nAceh as security affairs in the province are controlled by the
\nBukit Barisan Military command."<\/p>\n
Kostrad chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said on the sidelines
\nof Monday's ceremony, that the presidential instruction (Inpres)
\nissued to restore law and order in Aceh does not cover the
\nsoldiers' duties in the troubled province.<\/p>\n
"It should have clearly stipulated what TNI could do there,"
\nRyamizard said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Aceh, violence continued to rage throughout the
\ndisputed province on Monday, killing at least eight people during
\nthe flight of at least 10,000 refugees from conflicts in East
\nAceh regency, officials and reports confirmed.<\/p>\n
"Several acts of arson and bombings were reported on Monday
\nbut details of any casualties have not been received," deputy
\nspokesman of the police's Cinta Meunasah II operation, Sudarsono,
\ntold The Jakarta Post from Banda Aceh on Monday.<\/p>\n
At least eight people were killed in separate incidents in
\nNorth Aceh, Bireun, East Aceh and South Aceh on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Alleged rebels shot dead Jailani bin Muhammad Zaen, 40, in
\nKampung Keudu Idi Cut village of Darul Aman district in East
\nAceh, using an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle, officer Sudarsono said.<\/p>\n
"He was shot in the chest, dying instantly in front of his
\nhouse while the murderers fled the scene on a motorbike," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In South Aceh, the body of an unidentified man was found
\nditched on the side of a road in Manggeng district on Sunday,
\nwhile unidentified assailants shot and wounded a 31-year-old
\nresident of Blangpidie district.<\/p>\n
Following the intensified violence, locals in East Aceh fled
\ntheir homes and sought refuge at nearby camps and mosques in the
\nregency, their numbers reaching at least 10,000 people, Antara
\nreported.<\/p>\n
Some 2,500 locals from the villages near the ExxonMobil oil
\ncompound in Tanah Luas, Lhoksukon, also sought refuge in the area
\nof Nibong, North Aceh, a local journalist said.<\/p>\n
Also in North Aceh, a man named Muhammad Yusuf was found dead
\nin Cot Girek, Lhoksukon, on Monday, while the body of Mohammad
\nFeri was discovered in Alue Bili village in Baktya district on
\nSunday afternoon, Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) staff member M. Adam
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In Bireun, four men were killed on Monday. Two of the
\nfatalities found were identified as Fadeli, 25, and Ishak Yacob,
\n35. The identities of two other victims remains unknown after
\ntheir bodies were found in Batee Geulungku village, also in
\nBireun.<\/p>\n
A series of arson attacks, shootings and other violent attacks
\nalso occurred on Sunday in North Aceh, East Aceh, Aceh Besar,
\nSouth Aceh and Pidie, leaving at least four people injured and
\ndozens of buildings gutted. (edt\/50\/51\/02)<\/p>",
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