Fresh riot erupts in Aceh, victims yet to be found
Fresh riot erupts in Aceh, victims yet to be found
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Army units continued a desperate
sweep of the East Aceh regency Wednesday in search of eight
soldier victims of an as yet unexplained attack, as further
violence ensued in North Aceh early Wednesday morning.
A police station and a military post in Banda Sakti, North
Aceh, were attacked by a mob at 4 a.m. Wedensday.
The cause of the attack, which also resulted in two cars and
five motorcycles burned, is still unknown. There were no
immediate reports of casualties.
By 2 p.m. the situation was reported normal, although large
crowds had gathered in the vicinities of the now damaged posts.
There was no report of arrests.
Separately in Jakarta Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto
decried the abduction and possibly death of eight soldiers in
East Aceh, describing it as a brutal and gross violation of human
rights.
Military units deployed in the area continued their search
which has so far yielded little result with Armed Forces
officials already conceding that at least five of the soldiers
might be dead.
Wiranto told reporters after attending a Cabinet meeting that
separatist guerrillas probably incited the attacks and called on
the National Commission on Human Rights to conduct a thorough
investigation into the matter.
"The attackers conducted a sweep of the roads and killed the
soldiers in a sadistic manner," Wiranto added.
"This was not the work of citizens, not the work of Aceh
people who hope to see an end to the military operation zone.
"It is the work of an old group who want Aceh to be
independent. Their leaders incite people who really don't know
anything at all," Wiranto charged.
There remains confusion on the actual number of victims with
the Armed Forces initially saying Tuesday evening seven had been
abducted and then killed.
The incident occurred Tuesday morning when about 200 residents
near the village of Lhok Nibung began stopping vehicles in search
of Armed Forces personnel.
At around 10 a.m. they stopped a CV Kurnia passenger bus bound
for Medan, North Sumatra. The passengers included 16 off-duty
soldiers who were on Christmas vacation.
Lt. Col. Nurdin Sulistyo spokesman for the Bukit Barisan
military command overseeing Aceh, Riau, North and West Sumatra,
told The Jakarta Post in Medan Wednesday that 11 soldiers on the
bus escaped the inspection by showing their civilian identity
cards.
The other five were dragged off the bus after they could only
show their military identity cards.
Eye witness reports said the five were severely beaten, tied-
up and thrown into a nearby river.
"We still haven't found them and are continuing to look along
the river," he said, adding that it is not known whether the five
were already dead before they were thrown into the river.
The five were identified as: Privates M. Turnip, R. Siallagan,
Marasil Sinaga, Joulas Sirait and Yunus Tarigan. They were all
stationed with the Bireun 113 Infantry Battalion.
According to Nurdin, three other soldiers -- led by Marines
Maj. Edi Yanto -- went missing later in the day when their Suzuki
Carry jeep was stopped by a mob near Payang Blang Payang village.
They were taken by the mob and their fate is still unknown.
Again according to Nurdin, and separately confirmed by
Wiranto, 25 people have been detained for questioning -- 13 in
East Aceh regency and 12 in North Aceh.
Altogether 300 soldiers have been deployed to search for their
missing colleagues. (21)