Troops kill five more alleged rebels in Aceh<\/p>\n
Agencies, Banda Aceh\/Meulaboh<\/p>\n
Five more suspected rebels were killed in clashes between
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) troops and members of the Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM) in Aceh province, military officers said on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Troops shot dead a GAM subdistrict military commander during a
\ntwo-hour battle in the hilly area of Cot Meureuhong, Aceh Besar
\ndistrict, on Saturday, said First Lt. Kadir, who led 23 troops in
\na raid on the guerrillas.<\/p>\n
Aceh military spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki said two
\nsuspected rebels were also shot dead in a clash with troops in
\nIdie Rayeuk, East Aceh district, on Saturday.<\/p>\n
In another gunfight with rebels, this time in Bakongan, South
\nAceh, on Saturday, soldiers killed a suspected guerrilla and
\nrecovered ammunition from him, he said.<\/p>\n
In addition, Basuki said troops had shot dead a GAM member in
\na raid on a suspected rebel base in Mancang, Pidie regency, on
\nSaturday, adding that another rebel had also been captured alive
\nduring the raid.<\/p>\n
A number of clashes between troops and guerrillas were also
\nreported in the regencies of North Aceh and Pidie, but there were
\nno reports of casualties, he said.<\/p>\n
The military's claims were unable to be verified independently
\nas GAM representatives could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
Basuki also said that troops on Friday managed to free three
\nout of four school teachers who had been kidnapped by GAM members
\nin Meureubo, West Aceh.<\/p>\n
The three, who had been abducted the previous day, were freed
\nafter a raid by troops on a suspected GAM hideout, he said.<\/p>\n
A fourth teacher remained in the hands of GAM rebels, who had
\nbeen demanding a ransom of Rp 30 million (US$3,500) for the
\nrelease of all four captives.<\/p>\n
The teachers were reportedly kidnapped on Friday morning from
\ntheir school in the West Aceh town of Meureubo, while the
\nmilitary launched the rescue operation on Saturday afternoon at
\nthe hideout, about 15 kilometers away.<\/p>\n
Helped by a tip-off from local villagers, the TNI troops
\nstormed the rebel hideout and rescued the three school teachers.<\/p>\n
A firefight broke out, Basuki said, during which the three
\nteachers managed to escape. No one was hurt in the fighting, but
\nthe troops recovered ammunition, documents and mobile phone
\nnumbers belonging to rebel leaders, he added.<\/p>\n
The rebels, for their part, have been blamed for a wave of
\nkidnappings and killings of prominent local figures, including
\nteachers, journalists and government officials.<\/p>\n
Another Aceh military spokesman, Colonel Ditya Sudarsono, said
\nthat as of early on Sunday, the number of rebels killed since the
\ngovernment launched its massive operation in May to crush GAM
\nstood at 870.<\/p>\n
More than 1,800 had been captured or had surrendered, he
\nadded. The military had lost 47 soldiers while 15 police officers
\nhad also been killed.<\/p>\n
Aceh police have said that at least 319 civilians have been
\nkilled during the military operation, while 108 are missing. They
\ndid not say which side was to blame for the casualties.<\/p>\n
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the violence in
\nAceh since GAM began to fight for independence for the resource-
\nrich province on Sumatra island in 1976.<\/p>\n
The separatists, however, say they have suffered only light
\ncasualties and that most of the victims have been villagers
\ncaught up in the army's search-and-destroy operations.<\/p>\n
GAM's claims are backed by international human rights groups,
\nwhich accuse the military of committing atrocities in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The martial law authorities have imposed tight controls on
\nreporting from Aceh, barring access to rebel-controlled areas and
\npressuring reporters to provide only the government side of the
\nstory.<\/p>",
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