Fresh natural disasters add to Aceh miseries

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): No less than 600 people in strife-torn Aceh have fled their homes in the past few days after parts of the province were ravaged by cyclones, landslides and floods.

Violence, meanwhile, continues to plague the area. A total of nine people have been killed since Wednesday, including three Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers in Aceh Besar and North Aceh.

A strong cyclone wrecked seven houses in the coastal area of Tibang in the capital Banda Aceh on Thursday noon, leaving at least 30 people homeless.

No fatalities were reported in the incident.

Witnesses said strong winds whipped up huge waves that broke on to the shore, crushing the houses.

Early on Tuesday morning, a landslide struck Rawe village in Takengon district in Central Aceh after a 20-hour downpour in the area.

At least five houses were destroyed when mud poured down on the village at about 5 a.m., forcing hundreds of villagers to leave their homes and move toward higher ground.

"We heard a thundering noise and suddenly the ground was shaking," Nurhayati, a survivor, said.

To the villagers' surprise, no one was injured in the incident. According to Rusli Wahid, chief of the social agency in Aceh, three tons of rice and food were delivered on Thursday to the refugees, who have taken shelter in nearby government offices.

Last week, five houses were also destroyed when floods hit four districts in South Aceh, namely Sawang, Meukek, Manggeng and Tangan-Tangan. The districts are located in the foothills of Leuser mountain national park, which hosts protected forests and rare species.

"Heavy rain fell in the districts and it seems that since there has been illegal tree felling on the slopes of Leuser mountain, the ground was bare and a flood occurred," a local official said.

Local officials have complained about rampant illegal logging in the Leuser area, allegedly with the support of military officers.

Meanwhile, Brimob officer Sarmidi Erik, 28, was shot dead and a colleague wounded on Wednesday in an ambush by suspected separatist rebels in the village of Blang Nisam in North Aceh, North Aceh Police Lt. Col. Syafei Aksal said.

In a separate incident, Pvt. R. Sinaga and Pvt. Paryo were shot dead when a group of armed men attacked Ingin Jaya Police station in the relatively calm Aceh Besar district, near Banda Aceh, on Wednesday night.

"Pvt. Paryo died in hospital on Thursday," Aceh Besar Police chief Lt. Col. Sayed Husaini said. (50/51/edt)