Five rebels killed in Aceh

Five rebels killed in Aceh

INDONESIA: Indonesian troops have killed five separatist rebels
in the latest violence in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province, the
military said Saturday.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels were killed in a clash in
the Jantho area of Aceh Besar district on Friday, a local
military officer told reporters.

The five guerrillas were the latest casualties after Jakarta
lifted last week a year-old state of civil emergency in the
province that had given authorities the power to impose curfews
and other security measures in the province.

The rebels had been coming down from a mountain when they
encountered a group of army soldiers who were in the middle of
Friday prayers, local residents said.

They said the clash created panic among hundreds of refugees
who had moved to the area after surviving the Dec. 26 tsunami
disaster that killed more than 200,000 people.

A GAM spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
-- AFP

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Highlight-Philippines-Indonesia
Philippines says Indonesia not helping in hunt for hostages
JP/2/HIGHLIGHT

RP says RI not helping
in hunt for hostages

PHILIPPINES: Indonesian officials are not working with the
Philippine military in the hunt for three Indonesian seamen
kidnapped by suspected Al-Qaeda-linked militants, a top
Philippine army officer said in Jolo on Saturday.

"We have not received any reports from the Indonesian
consulate... They are not coordinating with us, but this does not
stop us from our operation to safely recover the hostages," said
Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza.

The three Indonesians -- Ahmad Resmiyadi, Yamin Labaso and
Erikson Hutagaol -- were seized in March after their boat was
attacked off Malaysia's Sabah region by a group calling itself
the Jamiat al-Islamiah of Southern Mindanao.

They were thought to be held somewhere in the southern
Philippine province of Tawi Tawi, and police and military
officials now believe they were seized by the Abu Sayyaf kidnap
gang.

"We are doing everything to trace their whereabouts. We have
recovered one speedboat of the Abu Sayyaf and several weapons --
that's the latest we have on the operation against the
kidnappers," Braganza said.

Earlier this week, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono asked Philippine President Gloria Arroyo for help in
rescuing the three hostages, foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda
said.

Hassan also said the captors had demanded a Rp 7.5 billion
(US$790,000) ransom from the hostages' employer. -- AFP

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Highlight-Japan-Indonesia
Japan searches for 13 missing fishermen
JP/2/HIGHLIGHT

Japan searches for
13 missing fishermen

JAPAN: Japan's coast guard said on Saturday it was searching
for 13 fishermen from China, Indonesia and Taiwan who have been
missing in the Pacific Ocean since earlier this week.

The crew were on board a Taiwanese tuna fishing boat lost
communication on May 16 in waters about 1,100 kilometers east-
southeast of Iwo Jima, the coast guard said in a statement.

On Saturday, the coast guard dispatched two planes and a
vessel to search for the missing fishermen -- seven Chinese, five
Indonesians and one Taiwanese captain -- but found no clues.

Japan's military also joined the search effort by sending a
plane to the area, a coast guard official said, adding the
Taiwanese tuna trawler, Sheng I Tsai No. 33, weighed 97 tons. --
AFP