Two Aceh rebels killed in North Sumatra
Two Aceh rebels killed in North Sumatra
Apriadi Gunawan and Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post,
Medan/Pekanbaru
A joint police-military team from Asahan, North Sumatra, killed
two suspected rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and
arrested four others in the waters off Asahan on Friday.
Acting on a tip from locals, the joint team conducted a patrol
in the waters off Asahan and searched a boat that was anchored at
a port.
In the boat, the team found seven GAM fighters, weapons and
documents about GAM's activities in the area over the past four
months, including a letter designating Misran, a native of
Tanjung Tiram Asahan, the GAM commander in the area.
The team attempted to arrest the six but they resisted,
prompting the firefight that left the two rebels dead.
Those killed were identified as Ramadhan, alias Mahdan, and
Tengku Ismail Syah, both from East Aceh. The other four gunmen --
Wandi, Evi, Azwar and Azlan -- were arrested and are now being
detained at the Tanjung Tiram Police station and the Tanjung Tira
Military Resort in Asahan regency.
The police and military team confiscated from the boat one AK-
47 with 183 bullets, one SN gun with eight bullets, one 45-
caliber gun with 12 bullets, one 38-caliber gun with nine bullets
and one grenade.
North Sumatra Police chief of detectives Sr. Comm. Iskandar
Hasan said the team was still searching for five other gunmen
believed to be armed with one AK-47, one M-16 gun and four
pistols.
"One of them is Misran, the one who is said to be the GAM
commander for the Asahan area," he told The Jakarta Post.
According to Iskandar, the gunmen had been preying on local
residents. He said the rebels often kidnapped local fishermen and
demanded ransom of up to Rp 50 million.
"The fishermen remained silent until we captured the gunmen.
But now they are free to say the gunmen often extorted money from
them," he said.
Iskandar said the police and military had stepped up their
patrols following last Tuesday's GAM attack that killed Brig. W.
Sihombing of the Labuhan Ruku Asahan Police precinct and injured
Sgt. Eko Laksono and Pvt. Sanen of the Navy.
Separately, the Tanjungbalai Karimun Naval Base chief for
western Indonesia, First Adm. Tedjo Adhie, said security
personnel had wounded a gunman, identified as Achmad, a native of
Sigli, North Aceh, on Wednesday.
He said the team, comprising Marines, members of Army
Battalion 126, the police's Mobile Brigade and the Sea Security
Patrol, were still patrolling the waters.
Tedjo said security personnel had determined the gunman was a
GAM member based on his weapons.
He also said a group of gunmen had kidnapped three fishermen
from Tanjung Tiram.
According to Tedjo, the gunmen entered the waters off Asahan
because they were trying to elude patrols in the waters of
Aceh.
"They were tied up so they tried to run to North Sumatra
waters to avoid being caught by security personnel," he said.
Tedjo said security personnel were monitoring the waters to
prevent other gunmen from gaining a foothold in the area.
"We will continue to patrol the waters to anticipate any
possibility. Even in Jakarta, GAM walks around," he said.