Aceh violence claims four lives

The up tick in violence in Indonesia’s troubled Aceh province continued apace with the military reporting the deaths of two civilians and two suspected separatist rebels.

Indonesian troops launched a massive anti-guerrilla operation on 19 May

A 42-year-old man was found dead at Baet Masjid in Aceh Besar district on Friday. He had been abducted by four suspected members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), local military chief Lieutenant Colonel Joko Warsito told reporters.
  
Military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki added that two GAM rebels also shot dead a civilian at Peusangan, while clashes between troops and militants in Aceh Jaya and East Aceh resulted in the deaths of two rebels.

Indonesian crack troops have killed more than 900 GAM rebels since the government launched a massive anti-guerrilla operation on 19 May. The country sent troops to the region, which has been engulfed in war since 1976, to crush separatists following the breakdown of peace talks in Japan.

The resulting violence has claimed the lives of 304 civilians and 66 members of the security forces.
 
More than 10,000 people have been killed in Aceh since 1976. The province, located on the eastern tip of Sumatra, is rich in natural gas.

Source: AFP