Ten people killed in strife-torn Aceh

Ten people killed in strife-torn Aceh

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Despite two days of dialog between the Indonesian government
and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva on Saturday and
Sunday, violence continued unabated in the war-torn province,
claiming at least 10 lives, including those of two servicemen.

Maj. Zaenal Mutaqin, spokesman for the military operation in
Aceh, said that security personnel shot dead two GAM members in
East Aceh on Sunday and recovered a firearm and 22 rounds of
ammunition from the bodies of the victims.

The security forces also recovered a body in west Glumpang
subdistrict, although it had yet to be identified, he added.

Mutaqin also said the GAM had killed a civilian, identified as
Mansur, 45, in North Aceh on Sunday.

So far, GAM has yet to confirm the killing.

Separately, Tengku Jamaika, spokesman for GAM in North Aceh
Regency, said on Monday that during the weekend the TNI had
conducted a major military operation in villages near Lhokseumawe
and Nisam subdistricts.

He alleged that as part of the operation, Army soldiers had
arrested five civilians on Saturday, and two of them, identified
as Rahman Ismail, 19 and Muslim, 27, were later found dead with
their bodies riddled with bullets.

Mutaqin slammed the GAM accusation as being baseless, saying
the operation was being conducted to protect the people from
being intimidated by rebels, and that the military had never shot
civilians during the military operation.

Another victim of the unrest in Aceh was identified as
Jamaluddin, 43. He was shot dead by two motorists in Pasi Mali
market on Sunday. The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) removed his body
to his home in Suak Geudeubang village, West Aceh.

The Red Cross also removed the bodies of two civilians, who
were believed to have died from severe wounds, from Suak Raya
village to Meulaboh Hospital, said Rasmuddin, a local staffer of
the Red Cross in the town.

The body of last of the weekend's victims, who was identified
as Usman Husin, 50, was recovered from his house in Krueng Rieng
village in Pidie. He was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on
Saturday night.

Both sides' delegates who met in Geneva agreed to continue
their meetings. A new date, however, has yet to be set.