Six more killed in Aceh

Six more killed in Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Six people, including four alleged
separatist rebels, have been shot dead in Aceh province despite
an expected imminent peace deal, the military and local residents
said on Monday.

Troops shot dead four members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
during a 15-minute firefight in Seuneubok Teungah in West Aceh on
Sunday afternoon, claimed provincial military spokesman Major Edi
Fernandi.

No soldiers were hurt and two AK-47 rifles were seized from
the victims, he said.

About five rebels allegedly ambushed a patrol of six soldiers
on Sunday and wounded one of them at Bandar Masin, on the
outskirts of Lhokseumawe town, he said.

Residents said one civilian was killed by stray bullets and
one woman wounded.

The local GAM spokesman, Tengku Jamaica, denied that an ambush
had been perpetrated by his men.

"The shooting was between the TNI (Indonesian Military)
soldiers and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers," Jamaica said.

Brimob officers and soldiers have a long history of clashes in
various parts of Indonesia, especially since the police were
separated from the military in 1999.

Meanwhile, gunmen wearing military fatigues killed a village
chief near the provincial capital Banda Aceh on Sunday, residents
said.

They said five gunmen landed a boat on the beach near the
chief's hut, shot him dead and then set fire both to his hut and
others nearby.

The chief's body has not been found. --AFP