12 Killed in Violence in Aceh, Indonesia

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 24, 2001

12 Killed in Violence in Aceh, Indonesia

At least 12 people were killed in the latest outbreak of violence in Indonesia's Aceh province from Wednesday to Thursday. The report quoted military spokesman Lt. Col. Firdaus as saying that seven members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were shot dead in a military raid at a rebel base in the Gunung Rotan hills of South Aceh district on Wednesday.

At least 12 people were killed in the latest outbreak of violence in Indonesia's Aceh province from Wednesday to Thursday, the Jakarta Post.com online news service reported Friday.

The report quoted military spokesman Lt. Col. Firdaus as saying that seven members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were shot dead in a military raid at a rebel base in the Gunung Rotan hills of South Aceh district on Wednesday.

GAM rebels Thursday ambushed a military convoy in the Krueng Sabee district of West Aceh and shot dead a soldier. The unidentified bodies of four civilians were also found nearby, Firdaus said. GAM has been fighting for an independent Islamic state since the mid-1970s.

The central government eventually slapped a separatist tag on the movement in March this year. President Megawati Soekarnoputri led a peace campaign in the province in September, but firmly rejected independence for the province. At least 1,300 people have been killed in Aceh this year, mostly civilians.