Brimob suspected of killing 3 women in Aceh
Brimob suspected of killing 3 women in Aceh
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Three women were shot to death and one girl was wounded by an
armed group of men in Meunasah Blang Kandang village, Muara Dua
district, North Aceh Friday evening.
The victims were identified as Fatimah Hanafiah, 40, Kartini
Abdul Wahab, 36, and Fitridah Rasyid, 32. They all bore gunshot
wounds to the upper body and head.
Fatima's daughter, Meutia Riki, 13, received a gunshot wound
to her left shoulder and is being treated at Cut Meutiah hospital
in Lhokseumawe.
Quoting eyewitnesses, Hamzah, chairman of the Data and
Investigation Commission of the Aceh Referendum Information
Center (SIRA) said Saturday that the culprits came in a Toyota
Kijang minivan and went to the house of Fitridah first.
After talking for a while, the executioners shot Fitridah. The
culprits then killed Fatimah and Kartini, both neighbors of
Fitridah.
Their husbands were not around when the shooting incident took
place.
"They were shot in front of their own houses," Hamzah said.
Eyewitnesses, who suspected six members of the Police Mobile
Brigade (Brimob) to be behind the killing, identified one of the
men as a police sergeant with the Police Mobile Brigade.
Police spokesman D. Achmad, however, strongly denied the
allegation and blamed the Aceh Free Movement (GAM) for the
incident.
"As always, after killing civilians, they (GAM) wash their
hands," Achmad said Saturday.
GAM's spokesman for the Pasee region, Abu Jamaika accused the
military of being responsible for the incident.
"The Indonesian military shot to death three women because
they have brothers in GAM," Abu Jamaika said.
After the shooting incident, the six armed men sped away from
Meunasah Blang Kandang village, located just three kilometers
from Lhokseumawe.
In a separate incident, one Mobile Brigade officer was killed
and four others were wounded Thursday evening in an ambush by GAM
fighters in the Kapur Mountain, Trumon district, South Aceh
regency.
Kartiwi Daud, the district GAM spokesman, told AFP Saturday
that GAM was responsible for the attack but said three Brimob
members died. He said two Mobile Brigade trucks crashed into a
ravine after GAM opened fire.