Boy accidentally shot died by troops in Aceh: Mother
Boy accidentally shot died by troops in Aceh: Mother
Agence France-Presse, Banda Aceh
Indonesian troops hunting separatist rebels in the restive province of Aceh mistakenly shot dead a teenager and wounded his younger brother, the victims' mother said Thursday.
Darwati, from Leubu Lapehan in Bireuen district, said her oldest son Muntasir, 17, was shot dead by troops on Wednesday and a younger son, Harmadi, 14, was wounded.
The 40-year-old said she, her husband Suleiman, 60, and their three sons were at their wood and bamboo hut when some 20 soldiers encircled the house and began firing shots.
The soldiers shouted that they should leave the house. They came out and lay on the ground, Darwati said.
More shots were fired, only halting after Darwati shouted that her son Harmadi was wounded. They discovered later that Muntasir was killed by a bullet that hit him in the back.
"I do not know who shot them, there was only TNI (Indonesian armed forces) personnel there," Darwati said.
The soldiers took the two boys to hospital and later transferred the injured teenager to the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.
"They said that they had been looking for a vacant house which actually lies at the back of my own house, because they said there were GAM members hiding there," Darwati said.
However Aceh military spokesman Lt.Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki in a statement said that the only deaths in Bireuen on Wednesday were those of two suspected rebels, aged 18 and 19, who were shot during a clash.
There were nine other incidents of violence across Aceh on Tuesday and Wednesday, which together left five rebels dead with two others captured alive, he said. One rebel also surrendered to authorities in Pidie on Tuesday and weapons were seized.
The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been fighting for independence since 1976. In May the government launched an all- out offensive to rid the province of the separatist group. The military says more than 1,200 guerrillas have been killed since then and more than 2,000 others have been captured or surrendered.
Some analysts question whether the toll for the rebel dead includes civilians, pointing out that relatively few weapons have been captured.