BANDA ACEH - Helicopters fired rockets at rebel bases and troops were ordered to shoot arsonists on sight Wednesday as Indonesia's military intensified its offensive against separatist guerrillas in Aceh province. Senior army officers said soldiers killed 10 rebels on the third and bloodiest day of the assault, but separatists put the death toll at 13, including 10 civilians. The Indonesian Red Cross said there were 10 fatalities. There were no reports of military casualties. The operation, the largest since Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, was ordered by President Megawati Sukarnoputri after weekend peace talks in Tokyo broke down. The region has a distinct language, culture and a stricter brand of Islam than practiced in the rest of Indonesia.
Empowered by a presidential declaration of martial law, Aceh military commander Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya ordered his men to shoot arsonists after unidentified men torched about 200 schools and public buildings in recent days. Suwarya also said he might bar the media from quoting rebel sources in their reports. Most of the fighting Wednesday was close to the northern town of Bireun, where Suwarya said seven rebels were killed. Troops also killed three other insurgents elsewhere in the province, including one on a beach close to Banda Aceh, he said. "The military are coming out in big numbers on land, on sea," rebel spokesman Tengku Agam Agam said.
| And shooting beachcombers, I guess... |
More schools were burned on Wednesday after each side accused the other of arson. Aceh Gov. Abdullah Puteh said: "The rebels have an evil agenda to make the Acehnese people stupid. A generation of Acehnese will be lost if this continues."
| "They don't need them damn' schools, long's they kin read the Koran..." |
Also Wednesday, three helicopters fired rockets at suspected rebel bases on two islands close to the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, said air force Col. Nazirsyah, who goes by single name. Marines also landed on the islands, but there was no immediate word on casualties, he said. |