Violence in troubled Aceh claims more lives

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The latest violence, which broke out in different parts of the troubled province over the past two days, has claimed at least five lives and injured four others, a police officer said on Wednesday.

North Aceh Police chief Supt. Abadan Bangko said four residents died when a patrol of security officers took a group of young men in Bang Nibong village, Samudra subdistrict, North Aceh regency, for armed rebels.

"The men then attempted to escape when the police fired warning shots to stop them," Abadan said.

He claimed that the security officers were forced to shoot after several of the men resisted by firing shots and throwing a hand grenade at the officers.

The blast killed five of the youths and injured two security officers and a resident.

The police officers' version of story, however, contradicted that of local residents, who claimed that there were no gunfights and that the security personnel just shot at the local youths.

"There were no gunfights. The six men were scared by the security personnel's sudden appearance in the village and tried to avoid those officers," a resident said.

In a related development, Aceh Besar Police Precinct chief Supt. Sayed Hoesainy confirmed that two activists of the Central Information on Aceh Referendum (CIRA) were arrested on Tuesday evening by a group of armed rebels.

"They were accused of stealing the car they were driving, which belongs to the National Family Planning Coordinating Board," he said.

Meanwhile, CIRA President Muh. Nazar said the two activists were released on Wednesday.

"They were arrested while repairing the car in the Setui area of Banda Aceh by a group of heavily-built armed men in civil outfits.

"I believe that the arrest was conducted by members of the police intelligence unit and the two activists were temporarily detained at the Police Mobile Brigade headquarters in Lingke village, some five kilometers away from Banda Aceh, where they had to endure physical assault there before finally being handed over to the Aceh Besar police precinct for further investigation," he said.

Nazar said the two were questioned by the police over their speeches on human rights and democracy, which the police described as provocative.

In a separate development, Muh. Yusuf Puteh, head of the Forum for Human Rights in East Aceh, said four residents were injured, four others were missing and eight houses were burned down during a sweeping operation by security officers in Kabu and Teumbun villages, Pereulak district, on Tuesday.

Separately, in Pidie regency, a military officer was reportedly injured when the bus he was riding on was intercepted by armed rebels during a sweeping operation on Jl. Raya Banda Aceh in Medan.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commander Abu Syeh denied the allegations that the movement was responsible for the actions. (50/lup)