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.