More Mobile Brigade troopers for Aceh

SEMARANG, Central Java: National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Friday that more police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) paramilitary troopers would be sent to Aceh province to help maintain law and order there.

Da'i said there were slightly over 4,000 Brimob troopers currently in Aceh, and that this number was deemed insufficient to "provide security" for Aceh's 4.3 million people.

"There is a need to increase the number of Brimob members in Aceh as the ratio is still only one police officer for every 1,000 people," Da'i was quoted by Antara as saying in Semarang, Central Java.

He said the Brimob troopers sent to Aceh would carry out general police duties.

Under the peace agreement signed by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Dec. 9, Brimob officers, notorious for their brutal attacks on civilians in Aceh, are to serve as general police for law enforcement purposes in the troubled province. --Antara