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'..
two loggers were burned to death by Indonesian soldiers who
had arrested them on Saturday on suspicion they were rebels.' ——
SOFYAN DAUD,
GAM deputy commander for
North Acheh
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CIVILIANS WERE KILLED AND six
others were wounded Sunday by rebels from the Free Acheh
Movement (GAM) in the Central Acheh village of Cemparan, said
police spokesman Sudharsono (eds: one name).
"Most of the victims are non-Achenese who have been
settling in Central Acheh since a long time ago,"
Commissioner Sudharsono told AFP.
The local GAM commander, Teungku Ilham bin Ilyas Leube, said
he could not confirm the incident.
The rebels have targeted migrant settlers, who are mainly
from the densely populated island of Java, as part of their
campaign to create an Islamic state in the resource-rich
region of Acheh.
The GAM commander also told AFP by telephone that an
unidentified gunman shot dead the head of a bus terminal in
the Central Acheh town of Takengon on Sunday.
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| iNTERNET;
STRATFOR, MSNBC, US DEPT. OF STATE, BBC
and HRW |
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Related
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The
charred bodies of two brothers were found Sunday in Pante
Bahagia in North Acheh, an Indonesian Red Cross official
said.
The GAM deputy commander in North Acheh, Sofyan Daud, said
the two loggers were burned to death by Indonesian soldiers
who had arrested them on Saturday on suspicion they were
rebels.
But Acheh military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Firdaus (eds:
one name) denied the charge.
One civilian was shot dead and two others, including a young
boy, were wounded in cross fire during a clash between GAM
rebels and soldiers in Kluet Selatan in South Acheh on
Sunday, a journalist said.
In another area of South Acheh, Kuala Batte, soldiers shot
dead a civilian during an anti-rebel patrol, South Acheh GAM
spokesman Ayah Manggeng said.
The man was shot as he ran away at the sight of arriving
soldiers, he said.
Two civilians were also killed and four others injured in
another patrol Sunday in Idi Rayeuk, East Acheh, student
activist Sulaiman (Eds: one name) said.
The police spokesman could not immediately confirm that
incident.
Violence has increased since Jakarta last month launched a
military operation to rid Acheh of the GAM, which has been
fighting for an Islamic state in Acheh since the mid-1970s.
The crackdown followed a year of inconclusive talks in
Geneva and shaky ceasefires between the two sides, which
failed to stem bloodshed that has left more than 700 dead
already this year.
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