Unknown culprits block Meulaboh to Banda Aceh roads<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Land transportation from Banda Aceh
\ncapital of Aceh province to Meulaboh in West Aceh has been
\ninterrupted over the last three days as unknown parties placed
\nfelled trees along the roads of the province's south and west
\ncoastal areas.<\/p>\n
A number of motorcyclists from West Aceh's Teunom and Krueng
\nSabee villages said in Banda Aceh that as of Sunday morning there
\nwere still felled trees, including coconut trees, placed along
\nthe road which prevented buses and cars from passing.<\/p>\n
Police said a similar barricade was also placed by unknown
\nparties on roads connecting Banda Aceh and Medan, the capital of
\nneighboring North Sumatra province last week.<\/p>\n
\"But the barricade has been cleared so the roads connecting
\nthe two provinces have returned to normal,\" spokesman for the
\npolice's Cinta Meunasah II Operation Adj. Sr. Comr. Sad
\nHarunantyo said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
As of Sunday afternoon, security personnel had cleared some of
\nthe trees along the Meulaboh-Banda Aceh route.<\/p>\n
\"We still have to finish clearing the trees from Krueng Sabee
\nvillage to Meulaboh or around 100 kilometers more,\" a source at
\nthe West Aceh police told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
It is expected that all trees would be lifted from the roads
\nby Monday morning.<\/p>\n
Due to the blockade, some bus companies in Banda Aceh have
\ndecided to temporarily halt their operations.<\/p>\n
\"All bus crews (serving the routes) are forced to rest,\" an
\nowner of a bus company, who requested anonymity, said.<\/p>\n
\"We will start selling our (bus) tickets again if all trees
\nhave been cleared from the roads and the security situation
\nallows us to operate,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, local Serambi Indonesia daily reported that several
\npatients of the Cut Nyak Dhien General Hospital in Meulaboh, who
\nwere to undergo further medical treatment in Banda Aceh, have
\nfailed to reach the provincial capital.<\/p>\n
In a related development, a convoy of military personnel was
\nattacked by an unknown group in Jaya district, West Aceh. A
\nsoldier was injured in the incident.<\/p>\n
There were scant details on the incident which took place in
\nthe area along the blockaded roads.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Commission for Missing People and Victims of
\nViolence (Kontras) claimed that around 211 people in Aceh had
\nbecome victims of violence in March.<\/p>\n
Coordinator of Kontras' Aceh branch, Bustami Arifin, told
\nAntara on Sunday that out of the 211 victims, 81 were killed, 28
\npeople were still missing, 68 people have been tortured, and 34
\nothers have been arrested arbitrarily.<\/p>\n
\"These figures are not real. We believe that the number of
\nvictims is much higher,\" Bustami said, adding that Kontras faced
\ndifficulties in monitoring violence in all parts of Aceh.<\/p>\n
He noted that the figures were based on reports from Kontras'
\nvolunteers in 13 regencies in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Kontras reported that out of the 81 people killed in March, 34
\npeople were killed in East Aceh regency, 15 people in North Aceh,
\n11 in Aceh Besar, nine in South Aceh, six in Pidie, three in
\nCentral Aceh and another three in West Aceh.<\/p>\n
Out of the 28 missing people, nine were from Aceh Besar, eight
\nfrom East Aceh, five from Pidie, four from North Aceh, one from
\nBireun and one from South Aceh.<\/p>\n
Of the 68 people who suffered torture, 18 were from East
\nAceh, 18 from North Aceh, 11 from South Aceh, 10 from Pidie, 10
\nfrom West Aceh, and one from Aceh Besar. (50\/emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/unknown-culprits-block-meulaboh-to-banda-aceh-roads-1447893297",
"image": ""
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