Military sinks Thai fishing boat

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Nangroe Aceh Darussalam

The military in Aceh sank a Thai fishing boat in the waters off Meulaboh in West Aceh on Tuesday, an officer said on Wednesday.

Aceh Military head Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya said security authorities believed the ship was trying to smuggle arms into the province, where the military is waging an offensive against rebels.

"The arrival of the ship violated the decree of the martial law administration. I am confident it was carrying pirates," Endang said.

Following a tip from local fishermen, the military deployed 16 soldiers to intercept a fleet of 17 Thailand fishing boats that had entered Indonesian waters.

No one was arrested after a one-hour gunfight. Endang said the 16 other boats sped back to international waters after helping the crew of the sinking ship.

The Indonesian Military has accused Thailand arms dealers of supplying weapons to the Free Aceh Movement.

Separately, spokesman for the military operation in Aceh Lt. Col. Asep Sapari told AFP the military had found the bodies of five civilians in the war-torn province and blamed the deaths of three of them on GAM rebels.

The bodies of two retired soldiers and a son of one of the men were found Monday by residents in Bireuen district, he said.

Sapari did not name anyone allegedly responsible for the death of the other two victims, whose bodies were found in two separate districts on Monday and Tuesday.

He said government forces engaged in two firefights with rebels on Monday but did not say whether there were any casualties.