Kopassus readied to quell Aceh rebels

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)