Police officer, civilian killed in Aceh

Police officer, civilian killed in Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The almost daily dose of violence which
has become a feature of life in Aceh claimed two more victims on
Friday when a police officer and a civilian were shot dead in
Pidie regency.

Pidie Police chief Lt. Col. Endang Emiqail Bagus said the
shooting occurred on the main street near a market located
between Simpang Lame and Pante Grueng village in the Sakti
district of Pidie regency.

The victims, identified as Sgt. Asmadi of Mila Police
Subprecinct and civilian M. Yusuf Husein, were ambushed in the
morning by a group of armed men.

"We have made no arrests. The attackers fled the scene right
after they sprayed bullets at the victims," Endang said.

Soon after the incident, mayhem struck the surrounding area as
some 5,000 residents fled their homes to seek refuge in nearby
mosques.

According to several residents, locals were fearful of
military and police sweep operations, which usually occur soon
after such shootings.

There were also reports that over a dozen buildings were
torched.

As of 4 p.m. on Friday fire was reportedly still ablaze in the
Simpang Lame market compound. It is unclear who was responsible
for starting the fire.

Endang dismissed suggestions that police officers initiated
the arson attack as a retaliation measure.

"I don't know anything about the fire. Based on my knowledge,
the mobile brigade officers who were there were only to evacuate
the bodies," he said later on Friday.

Meanwhile in North Aceh, a military patrol was involved in an
exchange of fire with a group of armed men suspected of being
separatist rebels.

No fatalities were reported in the shooting at Payo village in
the Matangkuli district.

Lilawangsa Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Kusworo said the
patrol was checking on reports that an armed group was staging
military training in the Blang Pante village which is adjacent to
Payo.

When the patrol arrived at Blang Pante it seized a black Taft
GT jeep license plate number B-1244 CG and found a 5.56 caliber
rifle, an M-16 bullet case and its projectiles, a walkie-talkie
and several detonator devices.

"They also found bunkers built in some of the houses there,"
Kusworo said.

A separate exchange of fire also occured between police and
suspected rebels near Cot Rieng village, 20 kilometers south of
Lhokseumawe.

North Aceh police chief Lt. Col. Syafei Aksal said one
separatist rebel was killed in the crossfire while one policeman
and a civilian riding the police truck was injured.

Syafei also said that a Mobil Oil employee was later shot
found dead in the village. Suroso, 40, had been kidnapped a day
earlier.

Researchers

Meanwhile in Jakarta, the director general for the Bogor-based
Center for International Forestry Research, Jeffrey A. Sayer,
expressed his concern over the fate of three of its researchers
kidnapped on Sept. 11 in southwestern Aceh.

Speaking to journalists after meeting with President
Abdurrahman Wahid, Sayer said the center had taken all possible
steps to trace the whereabouts of the researchers, including
approaching the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

"We are very worried about their safety, and we have even
contacted GAM, but their whereabouts remain unclear," Sayer said.

Budiawan Dwi Prasetyo, 34, Atim Gumelar, 24, Hardian, 23, and
their guide, Idrusman, 48, were abducted at Ujung Batu village
while on their way south to Medan, North Sumatra.

The researchers were conducting a month-long field survey of
the province's ecosystem.

"Since the kidnapping we've had to stop all our activities in
Aceh," Sayer said.

Separately, the President disclosed that he had assigned his
personal envoys to continue negotiations with antigovernment
forces in Aceh, including GAM.

In a public dialog after Friday prayers at Baiturrahman Mosque
in the Merdeka Palace compound, Abdurrahman reiterated his
optimism that his government would be able to resolve conflicts
in restive provinces, which include Aceh, Maluku and Irian Jaya.

"I am convinced that Aceh, Irian Jaya and Ambon will not break
away from Indonesia," the President said. (50/51/edt/prb)