Two more civilians shot dead in Aceh

Two more civilians shot dead in Aceh

By Ati Nurbaiti

LHOKSEUMAWE, North Aceh (JP): Residents in two districts
buried two civilians who were shot by unidentified assailants on
Saturday, a day after a police chief and a police sergeant also
were shot to death in the eerily deserted regency.

Muhammad Nur, 47, an employee of the financial department of
PT Asean Aceh Fertilizer here, died on Saturday evening in front
of his house in the Dewantara district after men in military
uniform placed a rifle at his right cheek and fired, witnesses
said.

He died from the one shot at close range to the right side of
his mouth, said Dr. Taufiq A.R. of PT AAF's clinic.

"The mouth was full of gunpowder and the shrapnel of a bullet
was found in the back of his head," Taufiq said. Medical staff
were prepared to conduct an autopsy but were told it was not
necessary.

"We were told by police that the Dewantara Police chief had
said it was not necessary since police had found a bullet case at
the site," he said.

A source quoted two of the victim's four children and several
friends, who witnessed the murder from the terrace of the house,
as saying that three armed men in military uniform arrived in a
Suzuki Escudo van.

They demanded that the victim lend his Kijang van for patrol
purposes and that he could pick it up from the local military
command on Sunday. Nur agreed but the men proceeded to reverse
the van into a wall.

Nur came out of his house and was confronted by one of the men
who accused him of using a derogatory local term for soldiers.

"You have been calling us Pa'i all this time, haven't you?"
The man then pointed a rifle at the victim's mouth. "Do you know
what this is? It's an AK-47," he said before firing the one shot.

A villager at the burial said: "There are lots of security
personnel around but we never feel safe."

Local military commander Col. Syafnil Armen said the fact that
the assailants wore military uniform was no proof that military
personnel were involved. "Anyone could don a uniform," he said.

The other killing took place at about 2 p.m. on Saturday in
Kuta Makmur district. Syahnial, 37, was riding his motorbike when
he was shot in the neck by unknown assailants, a witness was
quoted as saying by the director of the Iskandar Muda local legal
aid office, M. Yacob Hamzah.

Yacob added five people were reported missing to his office by
relatives, who alleged they were picked up by the military from
Aug. 11 to Aug. 14. Except for one man, all were taken in the
early morning hours. No warrant was shown and the abducted men
were accused of being involved with the separatist Free Aceh
Movement.

Yacob said he had yet to report the missing people to the
police because he was buy preparing for the proper burial on
Monday of seven residents shot on Aug. 9 and dumped in a hole.

Security is being intensified ahead of the Aug. 17 celebration
of Independence Day. Police conducted a raid in Meuria Bluek
village of Meurah Mulia district on Sunday and found hundreds of
marijuana plants growing on three plots.

At least five villagers were taken to the police headquarters
for questioning. The raid followed armed contact with unknown
armed groups, police said.

Syafnil said on Saturday that he suspected that activities of
armed groups may intensify ahead of Independence Day.

While reports of violence have been received almost daily, the
Lilawangsa commander told reporters "there is a possibility that
activities (of armed groups) will intensify" ahead of the
commemoration of the Independence Day.

Police

The police chief, Second Lt. Usman Daud of Makmur district,
was killed along with First Sgt. Sutrisno in Gandapura district
by unidentified armed people, police said.

Two officers were taken to Lhokseumawe General Hospital for
treatment.

Four vehicles were set on fire in Krueng Maneh district,
drivers said, but North Aceh Police chief Col. Syafei Aksal could
not be reached for comment.

Aceh Police chief Col. Bachrumsyah flew from Banda Aceh on
Saturday to oversee the ceremony for the deceased at the North
Aceh Police Headquarters. Usman's body was brought to his home
district of Bireun while the Sutrisno's corpse was flown to
Bandung, West Java, to be buried in Tasikmalaya.

Bachrumsyah said security personnel in Aceh faced difficulty
because "we do not know who are the enemies and who are friends".
Extra care is being taken in investigations of suspects, he said.

On Sunday, no public transportation was seen operating
following circulars claiming to be from the Free Aceh Movement
urged people against traveling and against raising the country's
flag.

Syafnil did not believe the circulars were influencing the
public.

National flags from the road leading to Lhokseumawe were
hoisted "free of pressure" from authorities, he said, adding that
people reported threats from parties claiming to represent the
separatists if they dared raise the Indonesian flag.

"We hope that if people feel they can conduct business as,
usual they will be assured of their safety," he said.

Thousands of refugees in North Aceh have also returned home,
he said, but added he did not have the latest data.