Acehnese flee to Banda Aceh due to fear of raids

Acehnese flee to Banda Aceh due to fear of raids

JAKARTA (JP): Throngs of people from three regencies in Aceh
have flooded into the provincial capital of Banda Aceh to seek
shelter, following mounting tension in their hometowns as the
military steps up operations against separatists, Antara reported
on Monday.

The residents -- men, women and children of Pidie, East Aceh
and North Aceh -- left their homes carrying only necessary basic
items such as mattresses and clothes.

A large number of private cars and public buses headed to
Banda Aceh on Monday, heavily packed with passengers from the
three regencies. Many people could be seen standing in the buses.

The news agency did not give an estimate of the number of
refugees.

It was not clear where the people were heading, but some of
them said they were going to stay in their families' houses in
Banda Aceh until the situation returned to normal.

Some people said they felt compelled to leave their hometowns
after witnessing many of their neighbors being killed and
abducted in the past few days. The identities of the killers and
abductors was not apparent.

"Shooting could be heard from everywhere. Many people have
been abducted and tortured. All those incidents forced us to
temporarily leave our hometowns," said a refugee, who asked not
to be named.

Officials at Banda Aceh administration offices could not be
reached for comment on what preparations are being made for the
refugees.

Tensions increased in the three regencies following a series
of clashes between -- according to the military version --
security troops and the Free Aceh separatist guerrillas.

Last night, an officer told The Jakarta Post by telephone that
an armed group of people fired upon the Banda Sakti Police
substation in Lhokseumawe.

"The group of people fired at the police station from two
different directions, starting at 8 p.m," Lt. First Class M.
Wahyu Syarif, head of the substation, said.

The group of people fired their guns from the nearby Asuransi
Bumi Asih Jaya building and a tennis court located behind the
police station, the officer explained.

No fatalities were reported.

Two trucks packed with members of the joint military Crack
Riot Troop (PPRM) task force rushed to the scene.

One of the trucks chased away the attackers, while the other
truck safeguarded the police substation and staff.

One of the latest incidents in the troubled province took
place in the early hours of Monday when a group of unidentified
people threw a homemade Molotov cocktail at a transmigration
office in Bukit Rata village in Blang Mangat district, North
Aceh.

Fire swept through the 600-square-meter building, destroying
at least two rooms containing several computers, documents and
furniture.

No fatalities were reported and material losses had not yet
been calculated.

At least six families of transmigration office employees who
lived nearby left their homes and fled to the North Aceh capital
of Lhokseumawe.

On Saturday, nine soldiers were killed and seven others were
injured in a bloody clash between separatist rebels and the
military.

According to Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen.
Syamsul Ma'arif, the clash took place after 30 Free Aceh
guerrillas, armed with weapons including a light machine gun and
two M-16 rifles, launched an assault on security personnel
returning from operations in Gunung Malem hamlet in Setia Bakti
subdistrict, about 30 kilometers to the south of the West Aceh
capital of Meulaboh.

On May 25, a violent clash took place near the resettlement
area of Peudada district in North Aceh, claiming the lives of two
transmigrants, two security personnel and two medical workers.

Early last month, heavily armed military troops fired into a
crowd of villagers in the Krueng Geukueh area, killing 41
residents and seriously wounding more than 100 others.

After the incident, security authorities conducted a massive
raid in an attempt to net members of the Free Aceh movement.

The military maneuvers apparently terrorized the people, who
have lived through a traumatic decade during which a bloody
military operation in the province killed many Acehnese.

Last Friday, about 20,000 residents from Peudada and nearby
Jeumpa and Samalanga districts fled to public buildings following
raids against the separatist rebels by the joint-military Crack
Riot Troop (PPRM) task force.

The refugees said they feared fresh violence following the
fatal clash at Peudada between PPRM personnel and Free Aceh
separatist guerrillas.

The residents rushed to shelter in nearby mosques and high
school buildings.

Greater Aceh area police chief Lt. Col. Deddy Suryadi said his
men have been dispatched to the edge of the city of Banda Aceh to
prevent "irresponsible people" from entering Banda Aceh.

"We have found many residents of North Aceh and Pidie
regencies flocking to Banda Aceh today," he said. (asa/46/bsr)