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Talks Deadlocked as Violence Continues in Aceh, Indonesia
While talks between Indonesian security forces and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels, aimed at supporting the ongoing cease-fire, were concluded on Thursday, fighting continued in the Aceh province, officials said.
In a joint statement issued at the end of the closed-door meeting in Banda Aceh, capital of the province, the warring sides said they remained committed to trying to reduce the violence and maintaining "top-level" communications between their field commanders.
"The negotiators will continue working on details outlining methods to improve communication between field commanders," the statement was quoted by the Indonesian Observer Friday as saying.
Oemardi, director of public information for the humanitarian pause in Aceh, said the negotiators could not agree on how to improve communications between field commanders.
Negotiators from both sides said there were "many obstacles" to their efforts to seek peace.
In the joint statement, the negotiators did not define the obstacles they said stood in the way of peace.
But they said the two sides would meet again on March 15, and called on the public to support a shaky truce.
On Thursday, two separate incidents took place in Aceh. A 14-year-old junior high school student was shot and killed in Simpang Alem subdistrict in East Aceh. Another civilian was shot dead by troops during an operation in the village of Paya Laba in South Aceh district.
GAM has been fighting for a free Islamic state since the mid 1970s. Thousands of people have been killed during the clashes between the government troops and the Acehnese rebels.
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