TNI attacks AGAM headquarters in Pidie<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) continued
\non Monday to attack the headquarters of AGAM (the armed wing of
\nthe Free Aceh Movement) on a hilly area in Pidie, some 100
\nkilometers east of here.<\/p>\n
The siege began on Sunday with the aim of capturing AGAM
\nmilitary commander Teungku Abdullah Syafi'ie.<\/p>\n
Chief of Pidie Military district Lt. Col. Iskandar MS
\nconfirmed the raid on Monday and pledged the capture of the AGAM
\nmilitary chief soon.<\/p>\n
\"We have besieged the headquarters and will soon capture
\nAbdullah Syafi'ie,\" Iskandar said.<\/p>\n
Iskandar said Abdullah Syafi'ie was supported by dozens of
\narmed guards at the besieged spot.<\/p>\n
\"When TNI personnel infiltrated the area on Sunday morning,
\nAGAM men showered them with bullets from higher ground,\" he said.<\/p>\n
People living in villages adjacent to AGAM headquarters said
\nthey heard a large explosion and shooting from morning until
\nevening on Sunday. They said they had to seek shelter outside the
\nvillage for safety.<\/p>\n
\"All access to Jimjiem village, where AGAM headquarters is,
\nwas blocked by TNI,\" Muhammad Ali, a resident of Luengputu, said
\non Monday.<\/p>\n
Iskandar claimed that some AGAM men were shot, while only one
\nTNI soldier was hurt.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, AGAM spokesman in Pidie, Teungku Maad Muda, claimed
\nthat many TNI members were gunned down in the 10-hour shootout on
\nSunday. \"While they dropped more troops by helicopter, TNI
\nrescued its shot soldiers. None of us were shot,\" he told Serambi
\nIndonesia local daily on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
Sayed Ansari, an official at Sigli General Hospital, said on
\nMonday that only one TNI soldier was treated there for gunshot
\nwounds. State-owned Sigli Hospital is the only hospital in Pidie
\nregency. \"I don't know if there are more patients being treated
\nat other hospitals,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, three police stations in Meurah Mulia, Muara Batu
\nand Julok in North and East Aceh were attacked by GAM.
\n\"The grenade attacks injured eight police officers,\" said Maj.
\nEko Para, the deputy chief of the North Aceh Police.<\/p>\n
Following the attacks, police broke a vigilante checkpoint
\nestablished by local residents, and arrested 20 people.<\/p>\n
In a bid to secure their villages, local residents usually
\ncarry out a check to make sure people entering their villages are
\nwhat they term as \"clean\".<\/p>\n
\"The officers then raided a logistics warehouse. Four GAM
\nmembers were killed in the raid. On the way back to their
\nbarracks, the police convoy was intercepted by armed people in
\nKreung Mane in the Muara Batu district. Three of the attackers
\nwere shot dead,\" he said. He did not identify the victims nor say
\nwhere the bodies were taken.<\/p>\n
Moments after the police station attacks, policemen shot a van
\nspeeding in front of the police station in Julok. A child was
\nkilled and four other people in the van were hurt, a source from
\nPT Arun Lhokseumawe Hospital said.<\/p>\n
GAM spokesman for the Pase area, Ismail Syahputra, said that
\nIndonesian policemen killed and tortured civilians who had no
\nlink with the separatist movement. He also said that Indonesian
\nofficers stole villagers' belongings when they searched
\nresidents' houses.<\/p>\n
East Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Abdullah Hayati said he had
\nnot yet received a report on the fatal shooting.<\/p>\n
Responding to the series of violence, some 300 students and
\ncivilians staged a protest at the Aceh Police Headquarters in
\nBanda Aceh on Monday. (50\/sur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tni-attacks-agam-headquarters-in-pidie-1447893297",
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