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
;AFP; ANPAi..r.. 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
;AFP; ANPAi..u.. 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