Nine killed, 22 hurt in Aceh military raids<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Nine people died and at least 22 more were
\ninjured during military raids on alleged separatist groups in
\nAceh, military officers and hospital staff said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Lilawangsa Military Commander Col. Johnny Wahab told The
\nJakarta Post that the nine were killed during a shoot-out between
\nthe military and suspected members of a separatist movement in
\nthe villages of Kandang and Pusong in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Hamdani of the Lhokseumawe General Hospital said that those
\nkilled were all males. They were identified as Idris Abdullah,
\n30; Hamzah Azalil, 46; Ibrahim Yasin, 43; Akbar, 35; M. Daud, 40;
\nHasan, 35; Muchtar, 25; Buchari, 20; and Makasalmina, 20.<\/p>\n
A solidarity group for Aceh here, however, said a woman was
\nalso killed.<\/p>\n
Another staff member in the hospital's emergency ward, Joni
\nSaputra, said that another 22 people were still being treated in
\nthe hospital for bullet wounds and cuts.<\/p>\n
Johnny Wahab, however, said that only 17 people were being
\ntreated at the hospital.<\/p>\n
Johnny said the situation in Lhokseumawe had returned to
\nnormal, although he admitted that people were \"still afraid\".<\/p>\n
Yakob Hamzah of the Iskandar Muda Legal Aid Institute, a
\nnongovernmental organization, however, said the situation was
\n\"alarming\" as the military had sealed off the road to and from
\nLhokseumawe on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"I have heard reports that the military is conducting
\n'sweeping operations' in Pusong, about one kilometer from here,\"
\nYacob told the Post from Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
The military raided the villages of Meusanah Blang Kandang,
\nSimpang Kramat and Pusong (not two villages as the military
\nclaimed) on Sunday and detained 132 members of the Free Aceh
\nMovement led by Ahmad Kandang. Ahmad, however, was not found.<\/p>\n
Johnny claimed on Sunday that separatists used women and
\nchildren as \"shields\" while firing on security forces.<\/p>\n
Yacob Hamzah said that 158 people were detained in the raids
\non the three villages.<\/p>\n
Yacob also said that 40 people, 19 of whom were in critical
\ncondition, were being treated at a number of hospitals and health
\ncenters in the area.<\/p>\n
Yacob said that no deaths were reported in Kandang, which was
\nraided at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, six people died in Simpang Kramat when clashes
\nbroke out at 9:00 a.m. Three more died in Pusong about an hour
\nlater, Yacob said.<\/p>\n
Johnny said that about 700 troops had been deployed in the
\nareas to find the bodies of seven soldiers reportedly killed by
\nproseparatist mobs, and to search for two marines who were being
\nheld hostage.<\/p>\n
The two marines, one of them an officer, were kidnapped on
\nWednesday in the North Aceh district of Muara Dua.<\/p>\n
\"We have not found the two marines yet and the search
\noperation is ongoing,\" Johnny said.<\/p>\n
Seven soldiers were killed last Tuesday when a mob dragged 18
\noff-duty troopers from public buses passing through the Simpang
\nUlim district in East Aceh.<\/p>\n
Eleven soldiers escaped the mob by producing civilian identity
\ncards.<\/p>\n
The bodies of three soldiers were found in Arakundo River,
\nwhile a fourth body was found off the coast by fishermen on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
A separate incident took place on Sunday in the Aceh town of
\nPidie, where two men were reportedly killed and another seriously
\ninjured.<\/p>\n
A mob of some 200 people killed a man suspected of being a
\nmilitary informant.<\/p>\n
Security forces fired warning shots when the mob tried to
\ndestroy a local bank after vandalizing the vacant home of former
\ngovernor Ibrahim Hasan.<\/p>\n
A resident, Suyanto, 22, died after being hit by a stray
\nbullet, while another resident identified as Said Liza, 25, was
\nseriously injured.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the National Commission on Human Rights said on
\nMonday that a four-member team would be dispatched to Aceh on
\nWednesday to conduct a thorough investigation into the recent
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
Team leader Albert Hasibuan said they would visit Lhokseumawe,
\nLhok Nibung and the provincial town of Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
The other three members of the team are Koesparmono Irsan,
\nSoegiri and M. Salim.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto called on the
\nrights body last week to conduct a thorough investigation into
\nthe matter.<\/p>\n
Separately, Brig. Gen. Abdul Rachman Gaffar replaced Maj.
\nIsmed Yuzairi as the Bukit Barisan Regional Military Commander on
\nMonday. Aceh falls under the supervision of the regional military
\ncommand.<\/p>\n
ABRI spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif maintained that the
\nmove had nothing to do with Sunday's incident. (byg\/anr\/imn\/01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nine-killed-22-hurt-in-aceh-military-raids-1447893297",
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