|
|
Change Your Life! |
Eight die in latest Aceh violence |
|
News
|
|
|
September 9, 2000
BANDA ACEH, SEPT 8 (AP) - At least eight people were killed in an upsurge of violence in Aceh, an Indonesia's province on the northern tip of Sumatra island, police and rebels said Friday. Supt. Abadan Bangko, chief of North Aceh police, said 14 soldiers and policemen were wounded in five separate clashes Thursday with guerillas of the Free Aceh Movement. "They launched grenade attacks against two military and police posts and ambushed truckloads of security forces," Bangko said. "Fortunately, none of our troops were killed." Meanwhile, Abu Sofyan Daud, a rebel leader in northern Aceh, said six civilians died and 11 other were captured by Indonesian security forces during the Thursday's fighting. He said the prisoners were not connected with the insurgents. Bangko confirmed the capture, but said only four "suspected rebels" were arrested after the attack on a police patrol. Also Thursday, police found the bodies of three civilians, including a village chief, who were earlier abducted by unidentified gunmen in central Aceh. Supt. Misik Natari, said another civilian was still unaccounted for after Wednesday's abduction. The deaths brought to 84 the number of people killed in Aceh since the first three-month truce went into effect on June 2. Both sides agreed on last week to extend the so-called "humanitarian pause" for an unspecified period. Separatists have been fighting since 1975 for independence in their gas- and oil-rich homeland. At least 5,000 people have been killed in the past decade. Rebels say the latest upsurge in the fighting was provoked by Indonesian army commanders worried that the current peace process could harm their extensive business interests in Aceh. |