14 bodies found in N. Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): At least 14 bodies have been found in two separate locations in Nisam district, North Aceh, about 350 kilometers east of Banda Aceh, over the past two days, Antara reported on Saturday.

According to the news agency, residents of Alue Dua village found 10 unidentified bodies along Jl. Kertas Kraf Aceh on Saturday.

Quoting the head of the North Aceh branch of the Indonesian Red Cross, Mauludi, the news agency said eight of the 10 bodies were buried by the residents, while the other two bodies were sent to a nearby hospital for postmortem examinations.

Mauludi speculated that the bodies, of people between the ages of 15 and 30, had been dumped some five or six days before they were discovered.

"They are all rotten. We can't identify them," he said.

The Indonesian Red Cross removed on Friday four bodies from a ravine in Krueng Tuan village in Nisam district.

The victims, who died of gunshot wounds, were identified as M. Yakob, 30, Hanafiah 35, Ibnu Hajar, 21, and Syamsuddin, 17. (emf)