Nine killed, 22 hurt in Aceh military raids

JAKARTA (JP): Nine people died and at least 22 more were injured during military raids on alleged separatist groups in Aceh, military officers and hospital staff said on Monday.

Lilawangsa Military Commander Col. Johnny Wahab told The Jakarta Post that the nine were killed during a shoot-out between the military and suspected members of a separatist movement in the villages of Kandang and Pusong in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, on Sunday.

Hamdani of the Lhokseumawe General Hospital said that those killed were all males. They were identified as Idris Abdullah, 30; Hamzah Azalil, 46; Ibrahim Yasin, 43; Akbar, 35; M. Daud, 40; Hasan, 35; Muchtar, 25; Buchari, 20; and Makasalmina, 20.

A solidarity group for Aceh here, however, said a woman was also killed.

Another staff member in the hospital's emergency ward, Joni Saputra, said that another 22 people were still being treated in the hospital for bullet wounds and cuts.

Johnny Wahab, however, said that only 17 people were being treated at the hospital.

Johnny said the situation in Lhokseumawe had returned to normal, although he admitted that people were "still afraid".

Yakob Hamzah of the Iskandar Muda Legal Aid Institute, a nongovernmental organization, however, said the situation was "alarming" as the military had sealed off the road to and from Lhokseumawe on Monday.

"I have heard reports that the military is conducting 'sweeping operations' in Pusong, about one kilometer from here," Yacob told the Post from Lhokseumawe.

The military raided the villages of Meusanah Blang Kandang, Simpang Kramat and Pusong (not two villages as the military claimed) on Sunday and detained 132 members of the Free Aceh Movement led by Ahmad Kandang. Ahmad, however, was not found.

Johnny claimed on Sunday that separatists used women and children as "shields" while firing on security forces.

Yacob Hamzah said that 158 people were detained in the raids on the three villages.

Yacob also said that 40 people, 19 of whom were in critical condition, were being treated at a number of hospitals and health centers in the area.

Yacob said that no deaths were reported in Kandang, which was raided at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Meanwhile, six people died in Simpang Kramat when clashes broke out at 9:00 a.m. Three more died in Pusong about an hour later, Yacob said.

Johnny said that about 700 troops had been deployed in the areas to find the bodies of seven soldiers reportedly killed by proseparatist mobs, and to search for two marines who were being held hostage.

The two marines, one of them an officer, were kidnapped on Wednesday in the North Aceh district of Muara Dua.

"We have not found the two marines yet and the search operation is ongoing," Johnny said.

Seven soldiers were killed last Tuesday when a mob dragged 18 off-duty troopers from public buses passing through the Simpang Ulim district in East Aceh.

Eleven soldiers escaped the mob by producing civilian identity cards.

The bodies of three soldiers were found in Arakundo River, while a fourth body was found off the coast by fishermen on Sunday.

A separate incident took place on Sunday in the Aceh town of Pidie, where two men were reportedly killed and another seriously injured.

A mob of some 200 people killed a man suspected of being a military informant.

Security forces fired warning shots when the mob tried to destroy a local bank after vandalizing the vacant home of former governor Ibrahim Hasan.

A resident, Suyanto, 22, died after being hit by a stray bullet, while another resident identified as Said Liza, 25, was seriously injured.

Meanwhile, the National Commission on Human Rights said on Monday that a four-member team would be dispatched to Aceh on Wednesday to conduct a thorough investigation into the recent violence.

Team leader Albert Hasibuan said they would visit Lhokseumawe, Lhok Nibung and the provincial town of Banda Aceh.

The other three members of the team are Koesparmono Irsan, Soegiri and M. Salim.

Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto called on the rights body last week to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.

Separately, Brig. Gen. Abdul Rachman Gaffar replaced Maj. Ismed Yuzairi as the Bukit Barisan Regional Military Commander on Monday. Aceh falls under the supervision of the regional military command.

ABRI spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif maintained that the move had nothing to do with Sunday's incident. (byg/anr/imn/01)