Rumors of attacks cloud Idul Fitri in Lhokseumawe

Rumors of attacks cloud Idul Fitri in Lhokseumawe

JAKARTA (JP): Idul Fitri passed quietly on Tuesday among tense
residents of Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, as rumors circulated that
alleged separatist leader Ahmad Kandang was planning to attack
the town during the holiday.

Antara said no festivities were seen in the town, about 300
kilometers east of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, with
streets and alleys were deserted. Troops from Lilawangsa Military
Command, which oversees North Aceh, East Aceh and Pidie
regencies, were seen patrolling the town and nearby district of
Ujungpeuseung.

Troops were also observed guards banks, state-owned
electricity company PLN's building and other government
facilities in Lhokseumawe.

Budi, a staff member of Lido Hotel in Lhokseumawe, told the
news agency rumors forced most of the hotel's guests to leave on
Tuesday despite a 20 percent discount.

The mood was different in nearby Bireuen and Keudemane in
North Aceh and Langsa and Peureulak in East Aceh on Tuesday.
Residents left their homes in the towns to visit relatives and
friends as part of the Idul Fitri celebration.

The military accuses Ahmad of being behind the killings of
seven off-duty soldiers in Lhoknibung in East Aceh and the
kidnapping of two marines in the North Aceh district of Muara Dua
last month.

Military operations launched to hunt down Ahmad since late
last month have claimed at least 21 lives and injured dozens more
civilians.

Lilawangsa Military Commander Col. Johnny Wahab told The
Jakarta Post from Lhokseumawe the situation had returned to
normal in the town on Wednesday.

Johnny said another violent incident broke out in a village in
Pidie regency on Tuesday when a mob torched the house of a
suspected military informant, called locally cuak. The man
escaped and sought shelter at a local military post.

On Monday, nervous police officers in Blangjeruen, North Aceh,
shot at residents in panic. It was earlier reported that police
saw a crowd approaching a police station and fired warning shots
at them. The military said two were wounded.

The people were actually carrying a victim of a traffic
accident to the police station. Rights activist Yacob Hamzah from
the Iskandar Muda Legal Aid Foundation in Lhokseumawe said one
person died and another was injured.

Also on Monday, police questioned five witnesses about the
killing of a soldier early on Sunday. Police said witnesses saw
the killers use firearms, and that they only knew three of the
mob who killed the soldier, First Sgt. Burhanuddin, a member of
the military unit in Meurah Mulia district.

Burhanuddin left his home to settle a reported scuffle but was
instead beaten by the mob for unclear reasons.

His killing occurred amid swift trial procedures for military
members charged with involvement in attacking detainees, leading
to the deaths of four of them, on Jan. 9.

The prosecution on Sunday demanded a four-year prison term for
one defendant, former battalion commander Maj. Bayu Najib, who
was tried separately from four other troops. They are among 27
defendants the military plans to court-martial for the deaths and
injuries to detainees.

North Aceh Military Police chief Lt. Col. Musmarsono told the
Post from Lhokseumawe on Wednesday the trials were to resume on
Jan. 26 and Jan. 28 in Banda Aceh. (rms/byg/anr)