Troops kill more Aceh rebels

JAKARTA: Despite calls for cease-fire following the calamity in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, the fighting between soldiers and separatist rebels has continued, with at least three more guerrillas killed on Saturday.

A subdistrict guerrilla commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and two of his men died in a clash with troops in northern Aceh, military spokesman Ari Mulya Asnawi said.

He claimed the clash erupted after the rebels tried to ambush a passing convoy of military trucks that was carrying supplies of relief for the disaster victims.

The military also captured five suspected rebels in two other incidents in northern Aceh on Saturday, Asnawi said.

News of the clashes comes as the military is playing a leading role in the massive multinational relief operation in Aceh following last Sunday's tsunami disaster that killed up to 100,000 people on Sumatra island.

GAM leaders have said that none of their members ambushed the convoy and blamed the military for the failed cease-fire agreement. -- Antara/AFP