Four killed in restive Aceh

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

At least three people were killed and three others injured in an assault launched by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Aceh Singkil regency, on Tuesday, while the body of an unidentified man was discovered in Tapak Tuan, West Aceh, on the same day.

Lt. Col. Agus Permana, chief of the South Aceh Military Subdistrict, told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Wednesday that Yasmianto, 40, Budori, 45, and Rasdi, 50, all of whom were Javanese transmigrants, were killed when dozens of rebels attacked their village in Sultan Daulat subdistrict, while Achmad, 52, Ujang, 22, and Samifan, 45, all of whom were wounded during the incident, were still undergoing intensive medical treatment in Sabulussalam public health center.

He said the local military was still pursuing the rebels who attacked the transmigrants, and would step up security for resettlement areas in the regency.

Separately, Khairul, an Indonesian Red Cross staffer in West Aceh, said that he, along with other villagers, had recovered the body of an unidentified man from a deep ravine near Tapaktuan, West Aceh, on Tuesday.

More than 1,200 civilians have been killed following the deployment of 15 battalions of troops and police personnel last January to put down a separatist revolt by GAM in the province.