Acehnese flee air strike

Acehnese flee air strike

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh

About 10,000 people in North Aceh regency had to abandon their
homes on Monday as the Indonesian Air Force bombarded rebel
positions in the mountainous area of Pantai Pisang in Nisam
district.

Meanwhile, in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, two homemade
bombs went off in local markets injuring three vendors in one of
the rare terrorist bombings since the start of the so-called
integrated operation on May 19.

In Nisam, helicopters and jet fighters have been attacking
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) positions since Sunday afternoon.

As the bombs fell, around 10,000 people from the villages of
Alue Papan, Alue Dua and Suemirah in Nisam were forced to flee
their homes.

Ordered to leave by the military, the villagers carried
clothes, stoves and chickens with them as they waited for the
authorities to take them to "refugee" camps.

Two camps have been prepared in the neighboring districts of
Dewantara and Muara Batu. Several villagers said they planned to
take shelter with their relatives away from the three villages.

Aceh Military Operation spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Basuki Yani
admitted the Indonesian Military (TNI) had ordered the evacuation
of the three villages.

"The bombing is targeted at GAM members in these areas," Yani
said.

He said the compulsory evacuation would not only help avoid
civilian casualties but also prevent rebels from melting into the
civilian population should they escape the military cordon and
enter the villages.

But being driven out of house and home is not easy for people
like 21-year-old Suryani from Seumirah, who gave birth to twins
five days ago.

"It will be difficult for us to leave. Our babies and my wife
are still very weak," said Suryani's husband, Moh. Amin.

The government has met few problems in delivering humanitarian
aid to the many thousands of evacuees in Aceh, but the conditions
in the camps are often harsh.

Among the most frequent complaints from evacuees in
neighboring Bireun regency are the lack of fresh water and
sanitation, and the sweltering heat they have to endure living
out in the open. Most evacuees have also lost their livelihoods.

The use of air strikes signals an escalation in the effort to
flush out rebels from their hiding places in Aceh's forests.

The military says it has encircled several rebel groups and is
now attempting to draw them out.

Yani said that the rebels had returned fire during Sunday's
air strike, but that resistance was generally weak. He added that
the military had only used rocket-firing helicopters.

However, locals said they had seen jet fighters in the areas
that were attacked.

"I saw a number of helicopters and jet fighters passing
overhead this morning. Afterwards, there was a series of loud
explosions near Pantai Pisang hill, around five kilometers from
the village," said Lukman Ilyas from Seumirah.

Separately, police blamed GAM for Monday's two bomb blasts in
Banda Aceh.

The first bomb exploded at around 8.15 a.m. in the Pasar Aceh
traditional market, while the second went off some 15 minutes
later at Kampung Baru, another traditional market. No one was
hurt in the first blast, but the second injured three vendors,
who sustained shrapnel wounds to their legs.

On the front line, Yani said that soldiers shot dead alleged
GAM member Dahlan M. Nur, 30, in Peudada village, East Aceh
regency.

A skirmish with rebels in Ulim district, Pidie regency, on
Monday injured 53-year old Rahman, who was hit in the leg.

Soldiers found several items they said belonged to GAM
members. These included a Mitsubishi van, a military uniform, and
a photo album showing rebels training, all of which were found in
Biheu village in North Aceh's Muara Tiga district on Sunday.

Meanwhile, three soldiers who admitted raping four women may
get the maximum jail term of 12 years. Military Police handed
over their files on the suspects to military prosecutors on
Monday.

The suspects, Chief Pvt. SP, First. Pvt. AD and First Pvt. AL
were arrested last Friday.

"The trial will be held immediately," said Yani.

Following a probe by the Military Police unit attached to the
military operation's command center in Lhokseumawe, Aceh Besar
regency, the three suspects admitted raping the four women on
June 20, 21 and 22 in various places in North Aceh regency.