JAKARTA: M. Toyib, an employee of U.S. oil and gas company

JAKARTA: M. Toyib, an employee of U.S. oil and gas company
ExxonMobil in Lhokseumauwe was shot dead by unidentified gunmen
in Brandang subdistrict, Banda Aceh on Thursday, according to an
ExxonMobil spokesperson.

The Indonesian military has quickly pointed the finger at Free
Aceh Movement separatist rebels.

Maj. Zaenal Mutaqim, spokesman for the military operations in
Aceh, said in a press release here on Friday that the victim was
shot when he and other workers were riding in an ExxonMobil bus
on their way to work.

The local security authorities have stepped up security in the
subdistrict to protect the foreign company's local workers from
rebel attacks.

The rebels have, in recent years, been accused of targeting
ExxonMobil in their province, as they perceive it as an
oppressive entity in league with an equally oppressive central
government which they claim illegally exploits Acehnese
resources. --Antara