Nine killed, 22 hurt in Aceh military raids

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)