Army seizes guns in Aceh

Army seizes guns in Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Indonesian troops have seized 37 foreign-
made weapons, including 22 rifles from a village witchdoctor, in
an operation against separatists in the province, Antara said
yesterday.

It reported the weapons seizures in three locations took the
total number of guns found since May 1996 to 120 along with more
than 8,000 rounds of ammunition. Last month, 45 rifles were
seized.

The report said soldiers in the Samalanga subdistrict of the
North Aceh regency, about 1,600 km northwest of Jakarta, found 19
Russian-designed AK-47s, three U.S.-made M-16s and 1,500 bullets
hidden under the bed of a village witchdoctor.

Antara said the man, identified only as Afn D, and his wife
were taken into custody. Gun ownership in Indonesia is tightly
controlled.

In the second seizure, at another village in Samalanga on
Wednesday, soldiers found three AR-15 rifles, and in the adjacent
Pidie regency seized another 10 AK-47s, one M-16 and a grenade
launcher.

The military has said the recent weapons seizures were a
strong indication the rebels were planning a "comeback".