10 people dead in restive Aceh
10 people dead in restive Aceh
Ten people have been killed in the restive Aceh province since Monday as the government prepares for a military operation amid the collapse of a peace pact with separatist rebels.
Six of the dead were members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), according to reports Wednesday from police or the rebels.
Security forces on Wednesday shot dead a local GAM commander in Manggeng, South Aceh, in a raid on his house, military spokesman Maj. Eddy Fernandi told AFP.
Also on Wednesday troops patrolling Aceh Besar district found 4,600 rounds of ammunition for AK-47 automatic rifles and three grenades hidden under sand in a truck, Eddy said.
Police arrested the truck driver and his assistant.
Three rebels were shot dead by government forces in Pidie district on Tuesday when they opened fire after police and soldiers ordered their motorcycle to stop, said district police chief Mariyanto.
GAM admitted the dead men were rebels but denied there had been an exchange of fire. It said the men, one of them aged 18, were shot dead as government forces conducted a search for rebels.
In North Aceh two other rebels were shot dead in separate incidents Tuesday, the rebels' district spokesman Teungku Jamaica said. The military confirmed troops had shot dead one GAM member during a firefight in North Aceh.
In a separate incident, Mariyanto said two civilians were found dead with gunshot wounds in Pidie district on Tuesday. GAM and the security forces blamed each other for the killings.
Humanitarian workers said they found a 17-year-old girl shot dead Monday in Bireuen district, where about 2,000 local residents have sought refuge in a school.
They fled from five villages in the Jeumpa area after a gunfight between government and rebel forces on Monday.
One village chief said a civilian, Ibrahim Ismail, 55, was struck and killed by a stray bullet on Monday night.
The 26-year conflict has claimed an estimated 10,000 lives in the province at the tip of Sumatra. -- AFP