Fourteen killed in Aceh as war continues to rage
Fourteen killed in Aceh as war continues to rage
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh
Fourteen more people, including a police officer and two
unidentified people, were killed in the military operation in
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), police and the military sources
said on Monday.
NAD Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Sayed Hussainy said here on
Monday that Brig. Sugiono and three rebels were killed in a
fierce gunfight in Kajeung Sungai Mas village, South Aceh regency
on Sunday.
Another policeman who was seriously injured in the clash, had
to be rushed to Medan, North Sumatra for medical treatment, he
added.
Military operation spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki said
in Lhokseumawe that the Indonesian Military (TNI) shot dead one
rebel and seized a rifle and a grenade launcher in Tiro, Pidie
regency, on Monday.
The soldiers, who are fighting members of the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM), also killed four rebels in Leupung district, Aceh
Besar on Sunday.
Capt. Pedro Soares said he deployed some units to the district
after receiving information from villagers on the presence of
several rebels on the slopes of a mountain in the district.
"Villagers told us there were five or six rebels up on Mount
Lamteh. We searched for three days before the clash," Pedro told
The Jakarta Post.
The TNI said it had confiscated an assault rifle, ammunition,
GAM flags and communication equipment.
Villagers later recovered the bodies and said three of the
four were residents of Leupung and the other could not be
unidentified.
"Yes, they lived here, and they are members of GAM's military
wing," avowed Muhammad, a resident of Leupung.
Also on Sunday, troops killed a suspected rebel during a raid
on an apparent hideout in the bordering district of Selimun.
Meanwhile, villagers in Kejuruan Muda village, East Aceh
district, recovered two unidentified bodies.
In a related development, the Ministry of Health announced on
Monday it had recorded a total of 688 fatalities so far since the
martial law was declared in May.
The military says it has killed 875 rebels and injured more
than 1,100 while arresting more than 1,800 others. Its official
figures for government casualties is currently 47 soldiers and 15
police personnel.
NAD police have said that at least 319 civilians have been
killed since May 19 and 108 have disappeared. They did not say
which side was responsible for the civilian deaths.
The military has called on the government to extend martial
law for another six months to allow it to remain in force in the
territory, ostensibly to root out all the remnants of the
separatist movement as well as to "create a feeling of safety
among the people".
The government has spent at least Rp 1.3 trillion to finance
the military operation so far.