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)