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