Military kills 41 in latest Aceh strife: Report

JAKARTA (JP): Troops shot dead at least 41 civilians, including a former political prisoner, in an antirebel operation in the troubled province of Aceh last week, a human rights group said on Monday.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) quoted witnesses as saying the military killed Teungku Bantaqiah, an Islamic boarding school leader, who was just released from Tanjung Gusta prison in North Sumatra in March. He was serving a five-year prison term for an alleged involvement in the Free Aceh separatist movement. Troops also killed Bantaqiah's wife, his students and a number of farmers in two successive raids in the remote Beutong area of West Aceh, some 100 kilometers south of the North Aceh capital of Lhokseumawe, on Friday.

"While the massacre was in progress, a number of villagers managed to escape. They had to walk through the jungle for one full day before reaching a nearby town, retelling their account of the violence," Kontras coordinator Munir told a media conference.

He said the military killed at least eight farmers in the first raid, launched shortly before Friday's prayer, in Krueng Beutong Ateuh and Blang Meurandeh hamlets.

"The farmers were slaughtered while they were fishing in the area," Munir, who called the violence as "a systematic massacre", added.

He said troops began the second raid in Blang Meurandeh after Friday's prayer by demanding the village chief gather up the villagers for an identity card check.

Munir said dozens of villagers gathered in Bantaqiah's house.

"Shortly after that, troops instructed dozens of male villagers to march out of the house to a nearby field and they opened fire on Bantaqiah and then on the villagers and they all died instantly," Munir said.

He quoted witnesses as saying that Bantaqiah was shot by a grenade launcher after the first two gunshots were not able to finish him.

Munir also said since July 20, the military had been carrying out antirebel operations in the nearby villages of Blang Puuk, Kuta Teungoh and Babak Suah.

However, Teuku Umar Regional Military Commander Col. Syarifuddin Tippe, who oversees security in West Aceh, Central Aceh, South Aceh, Southeast Aceh and Great Aceh, told Antara the villagers were killed in an exchange of gunfire.

He said only 31 civilians were killed and none of the security personnel were seriously injured in the incident.

"Before carrying out the raids on the suspected rebel base, troops were ambushed twice by a group of armed people and there was an exchange of gunfire," Syarifuddin said.

He said troops were dispatched to the mountainous area from Central Aceh following intelligence reports that Bantaqiah's group had some 100 firearms.

Syarifuddin said security personnel confiscated, among other things, two Russian-made AK-47 automatic weapons, a pistol, ammunition, a set of radio communications, two kilograms of marijuana and dozens of sharp weapons.

Friday's violence was so far the worst since the shooting in the North Aceh village of Krueng Geukueh on May 3, which killed at least 41 civilian protesters and triggered continuing clashes between the military and suspected rebels.

Tens of thousands of people have since then fled to school buildings and mosques in fear of military operations in the villages.

Armin Gruber, an International Committee of the Red Cross representative in Aceh, told The Jakarta Post on Monday that up to 95,000 people had sought refuge across the province and 60,000 of them were in Pidie, one of the most volatile areas in the province.

"For quite some time the influx of refugees will go on. It's not the peak of the problem," he said.

He said he was not optimistic that the situation would ease, and warned that a food shortage would be the next problem to tackle. (byg/anr)