Violence in Aceh claims six lives, injures one<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Violence in troubled Aceh over the past
\ntwo days has left six people dead and another injured, police and
\nwitnesses said on Monday.<\/p>\n
East Aceh Police chief Supt. Abdullah Hayati said the bodies
\nof two of the victims were found by residents in separate
\nlocations in East Aceh on Sunday, both bearing numerous wounds.<\/p>\n
The body of Idi Cut Police officer Pvt. Rahmat Imam Santoso
\nwas found in Titi Baro village, Idi Rayeuk district, while an
\nunidentified body was discovered near Kuala Langsa, in the waters
\nof Ujong Perling.<\/p>\n
Abdullah said Rahmat's body was dumped near Jl. Raya Banda
\nAceh-Medan, and was discovered on Sunday morning by Titi Baro
\nvillagers.<\/p>\n
He said Rahmat had been missing since he was shot by five
\nunidentified attackers at his house in Seuneubok Muku village
\nlast Friday.<\/p>\n
Separatist rebels have intensified their attacks on off-duty
\npolice officers over the past few days.<\/p>\n
"We condemn such attacks and both the police and the military
\nare committed to tracking down those responsible for such
\nattacks," he said.<\/p>\n
Abdullah said that several hours after the body of Rahmat was
\ndiscovered, the body of an unidentified man was found in Kuala
\nLangsa, Ujong Perling. The victim was 165 centimeters tall, bald
\nand wearing a pair of jeans.<\/p>\n
"Like Rahman, we found severe wounds all over his body. I
\nassume that he was tortured before he was killed," he said.<\/p>\n
In Cot Gunduek village, Pidie regency, local residents dug out
\nthe body of 17-year-old Mustafa M. Saleh from under the wreckage
\nof a burned house.<\/p>\n
The owner of the house, Kamariah, said Mustafa, whose hands
\nand legs were tied with wires, was locked inside the house by
\nsecurity personnel before they set it on fire.<\/p>\n
"Mustafa's two friends were then taken to the police station
\nin Sigli," she said.<\/p>\n
Pidie Police chief Asst. Supt. Heru Budi Ersanto said on
\nSunday security personnel had raided a house in Cot Gunduek
\nvillage on Saturday, which police suspected was being used by
\nmembers of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).<\/p>\n
Heru denied allegations police were responsible for the fire,
\nhinting that the GAM members razed the house in an attempt to
\nkill security personnel who were inside the house.<\/p>\n
Another fatality over the past two days was 47-year-old Tgk.
\nUsman Ismail, who was killed during a clash at Simpang Ulim
\nmarket, East Aceh, on Saturday evening, a witness named Saifuddin
\n-- who was shot in the arm during the violence -- said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Separately, locals in North Aceh discovered two unidentified
\nbodies, one in Asam Berik village and another in Pante Kiro
\nvillage in Matangkuli, North Aceh, on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The latest incidents brought the death toll since the
\nhumanitarian pause was enacted in Aceh to at least 450 people,
\nmostly civilians, while dozens of others have disappeared and
\nbeen injured.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Indonesianist and professor emeritus of political
\nscience at the University of Washington, Daniel S. Lev, said on
\nMonday the ongoing conflict in Aceh was the result of a
\nrepressive military approach.<\/p>\n
"What happens in Aceh, as well as in Irian Jaya, is a
\npolitical problem that must be handled with political solutions,
\nnot guns," Lev said during a break in a discussion on the
\nmilitary held by the National Institute of Sciences. (50\/lup\/edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/violence-in-aceh-claims-six-lives-injures-one-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}