Kopassus readied to quell Aceh rebels

JAKARTA (JP): Army Special Force (Kopassus) commander Maj. Gen. Amirul Isnaeni said on Monday that the force was ready to dispatch its troops to the troubled Aceh province in an effort to suppress the rebels.

"Since there has not been any request from the Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters to Kopassus ... all we can do right now is prepare our troops, in case they are required to go there (Aceh) at any time," Amirul told a press conference after presiding over a ceremony commemorating the force's 49th anniversary.

"Kopassus, however, has been providing training in guerrilla warfare to about 15 companies of the Army's infantry at Kopassus' education unit (in Batujajar, Bandung). The purpose of the training is to prepare the troops for Aceh," Amirul said.

Kopassus has been training "special troops" for dispatch to Aceh, namely Rajawali (Hawk) II Team, consisting of soldiers selected from the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad)'s second division based in Malang, East Java, as well as troops from West Java's Siliwangi Military Command and Jakarta Military Command.

Some of the troops have also been recruited from Central Java Diponegoro Military Command's crack troops, the Banteng (wild bull) Raiders.

They have been receiving training in various disciplines, including anti-guerrilla warfare, street combat, residential combat, densely-populated residential combat, ambush strategies, and shoot to kill techniques.

Asked whether Kopassus has conducted intelligence activities in Aceh, as revealed by Minister of Defense Mahfud MD, Amirul said: "The force is not to hold any intelligence activities in Aceh as security affairs in the province are controlled by the Bukit Barisan Military command."

Kostrad chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said on the sidelines of Monday's ceremony, that the presidential instruction (Inpres) issued to restore law and order in Aceh does not cover the soldiers' duties in the troubled province.

"It should have clearly stipulated what TNI could do there," Ryamizard said.

Meanwhile in Aceh, violence continued to rage throughout the disputed province on Monday, killing at least eight people during the flight of at least 10,000 refugees from conflicts in East Aceh regency, officials and reports confirmed.

"Several acts of arson and bombings were reported on Monday but details of any casualties have not been received," deputy spokesman of the police's Cinta Meunasah II operation, Sudarsono, told The Jakarta Post from Banda Aceh on Monday.

At least eight people were killed in separate incidents in North Aceh, Bireun, East Aceh and South Aceh on Sunday.

Alleged rebels shot dead Jailani bin Muhammad Zaen, 40, in Kampung Keudu Idi Cut village of Darul Aman district in East Aceh, using an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle, officer Sudarsono said.

"He was shot in the chest, dying instantly in front of his house while the murderers fled the scene on a motorbike," he said.

In South Aceh, the body of an unidentified man was found ditched on the side of a road in Manggeng district on Sunday, while unidentified assailants shot and wounded a 31-year-old resident of Blangpidie district.

Following the intensified violence, locals in East Aceh fled their homes and sought refuge at nearby camps and mosques in the regency, their numbers reaching at least 10,000 people, Antara reported.

Some 2,500 locals from the villages near the ExxonMobil oil compound in Tanah Luas, Lhoksukon, also sought refuge in the area of Nibong, North Aceh, a local journalist said.

Also in North Aceh, a man named Muhammad Yusuf was found dead in Cot Girek, Lhoksukon, on Monday, while the body of Mohammad Feri was discovered in Alue Bili village in Baktya district on Sunday afternoon, Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) staff member M. Adam said.

In Bireun, four men were killed on Monday. Two of the fatalities found were identified as Fadeli, 25, and Ishak Yacob, 35. The identities of two other victims remains unknown after their bodies were found in Batee Geulungku village, also in Bireun.

A series of arson attacks, shootings and other violent attacks also occurred on Sunday in North Aceh, East Aceh, Aceh Besar, South Aceh and Pidie, leaving at least four people injured and dozens of buildings gutted. (edt/50/51/02)