Jakarta – Indonesian armed forces (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has stated that the TNI is considering extending the integrated operation in Aceh until the 2004 general elections. [He said that] conducting the 2004 elections in Aceh, which will be held concurrently with elections in other provinces, represents one of the targets of the integrated operation in Aceh.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government will soon send Swedish prosecutors more evidence on Acehnese separatist leader-turned-Swedish citizen, Hassan Tiro's alleged involvement in criminal acts in Aceh, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda has disclosed.

Four suspected separatist rebels and a civilian have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province where troops are in the fourth month of an assault on the guerrillas, the military said.

Lhokseumawe – The chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, has said that that the Komnas HAM Ad Hoc Team for Aceh will investigate [a recent] report about 100 Acehnese women who have been raped, [saying that] if this has actually occurred, then gross human rights violations have occurred.

As Indonesia celebrates 58 years of independence, Four Corners looks at south-east Asia's most brutal and unrelenting conflict ... the Aceh civil war.

Nine suspected separatist rebels and two civilians have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province during the fourth month of an operation to crush the guerrillas, police and the military said.

Jakarta – The accusation that particular members of TNI [Indonesian armed forces] have committed rapes has surfaced again. This time it was raised by seven non-government organisation (NGOs) in making an evaluation of 100 days of the military emergency in Aceh which was presented to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) on Thursday (28/8).

John Aglionby – When Jakarta declared martial law in Aceh in May and launched it latest offensive to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels following the collapse of a five-month ceasefire, six months was deemed sufficient time to end the 27-year-long insurgency on the northern tip of Sumatra.

Kirsten E. Schulze – The military operation against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has entered the fourth month of what increasingly looks like an indeterminate period. Politicians have ruled out returning to negotiations in the near future. Indonesian Military (TNI) commanders on the ground and in Jakarta have stated that a year or more may be required to achieve their aims.

Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Most national newspapers and television stations have failed to uphold the basic principle of covering both sides in reporting the Aceh conflict, a media watchdog says.

Human rights groups say, since martial law was introduced in Indonesia's war ravaged province of Aceh in May, to crack down on the separatist Free Aceh Movement, schools have been burnt, tens of thousands of villagers displaced and many killed in the cross fire of a largely unreported war.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – With more than 35,000 troops on the ground, Jakarta has only managed to incapacitate 35 percent of Aceh's 5,000-strong rebel force so far, more than three months after the joint operation was launched on May 19.

The Indonesian military reported 14 more deaths in war-torn Aceh province and said seven of them were villagers massacred by separatist rebels.

More than 20 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels shot dead the seven residents of Gunung Semelit village in Central Aceh on Tuesday, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki on Thursday.

Kuching – Malaysia assured Jakarta on Thursday that it would not grant political asylum to people fleeing the restive Indonesian province of Aceh.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) voiced concern over Malaysia's stance after police detained almost 240 people, most of them from Aceh, outside its mission in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month.

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – For the second reported time, the Indonesian Military (TNI) dropped bombs and fired rockets at suspected rebel positions in two days of air strikes in Aceh with its Falcon F-16 and OV-10 Bronco bombers, claiming the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commanders were under siege.

Banda Aceh – Government troops have killed up to 752 separatist rebels in the roubled province of Aceh during the first 100 days of an all-out offensive aimed at crushing the 27-year-long insurgency, military sources said Wednesday.

Banda Aceh – Six Indonesian Military aircraft raided on Tuesday the hills of Kuta Baro subdistrict, Aceh Besar, believed to be a stronghold of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Jakarta - After having previously taking a soft position [on refugees] and stating that it will give temporary residency permits to hundreds of Acehnese asylum seekers in Malaysia, yesterday, the Malaysian Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, did an about turn and issued a strong statement [on the issue].

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) is of the view that the integrated operation which has continued for three months in Aceh has been characterised by far too many violations of human rights and humanitarian laws.

Baradan Kuppusamy, Kuala Lumpur – After a perilous five-day journey by sea in tongkangs or slow wooden boats, Acehnese displaced by the escalating war in their troubled Indonesian province cross the narrow Straits of Malacca and land on the long west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Meaulaboh – Indonesia's chief security minister said Thursday the government would not hold any kind of peace talks with the separatist movement to halt the war in Aceh province.

John Aglionby, Matang Peusangan – The several thousand people gathering in glorious sunshine on the main road in Matang Peusangan to celebrate Indonesia's independence day last Sunday were expecting a chance to relax with their friends and family.

Four separatist rebels including a suspected senior figure have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province, the army said, as a military campaign to crush the guerrillas entered its fourth month.

Troops shot dead three of the suspected members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on the outskirts of Lhokseumawe town on Monday, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki.

Leslie Lau – The captain and two crew members of a Malaysian-owned tanker have been kidnapped – the latest victims in a recent spate of pirate attacks being blamed on Aceh separatist rebels.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The military offensive to curb the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has resulted in rampant violations of the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in times of war, experts say.

They called on the government on Tuesday to halt the security operation in the country's westernmost province.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Lhokseumawe – The bedug (large drum) outside the small mosque in Ujung Blang village, Gandapura district, Bireuen, pounded incessantly on Tuesday, signaling that the remains of another victim of Indonesia's brutal war in Aceh had been found.

Curious residents soon gathered at a wooden house where two bodies were laid out pending burial.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Delivering her progress report at the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly on August 1, Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri said that, despite "occasional mishaps", her government had "put the country back on track".

A female activist faces 20 years in jail if found guilty in a treason trial which began in Indonesia's Aceh province, where troops are battling separatist rebels.

Almost 300 civilians were killed in the first two months of the Indonesian military's campaign to crush separatist rebels in Aceh, a rights group in the province said.

The Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA) said in a statement that 235 civilians were killed in the first month after the offensive was launched on May 19 and another 60 in the second month.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Lhokseumawe – In an apparent attempt to bury the hatchet with the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has pledged its support to the ongoing conflict in Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesian police said yesterday that rebels from the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were behind last month's bomb attack on Parliament, and that one man still wanted over the incident had fled to the rebellious province.

Police arrested two men late on Wednesday over the July 14 attack that caused minor damage. No one was hurt in the incident.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Lhokseumawe – The martial law administration in Aceh probably had not anticipated that people in the province would suffer when troops drove them into refugee camps in a bid to split them from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Indonesian troops have shot dead another eight suspected separatist rebels in Aceh province, the military said.

Troops shot dead five men believed to be Free Aceh Movement (GAM) guerrillas during a clash at Meukek in South Aceh district on Wednesday, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki. A marine was shot and wounded in the 30-minute clash, he added.

Nurul Hidayati, Jakarta – The presidential decree authorising a military emergency in Aceh is being challenged by the People's Lawyers Union (Serikat Pengacara Rakyat, SPR).

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Friday that the martial law in Aceh province would not last long and claimed the ongoing military operation to crush Acehnese separatist rebels was on the right track, despite reports of many civilian casualties.

Robert Go, Jakarta – A team dispatched by Indonesia's Parliament to review the progress of martial law operations in Aceh has returned to Jakarta bearing reports of possible violations by soldiers and government officials.

A US journalist arrested in June while reporting on a separatist war in Indonesia's Aceh province expects to be freed Sunday after being sentenced on immigration charges, his lawyer said.

Nani Farida and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – Two former negotiators for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) went on trial in the Banda Aceh District Court on terrorism and treason charges on Thursday.

Jakarta – The People's Democratic Party (PRD) has rejected holding general elections in Aceh for as long as the military emergency in Tanah Rencong [Aceh] continues.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – Facing two months imprisonment for immigration offenses, an American freelance journalist asserted that he had not committed any acts or activities that violated Indonesia's immigration law.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Lhokseumawe – Saturday night is no longer lively in the North Aceh capital Lhokseumawe where youngsters used to gather in street cafes downtown or just ride around on motorcycles.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Lhokseumawe/Denpasar – Armed clashes continued in many parts of Aceh province on Tuesday despite the martial law administration's claim that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) had been terminally weakened.

Nani Farida and Teriani ZB Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – A House of Representatives delegation visited Aceh on Monday and was quick to judge the military operation in the province a success merely from the number of red and white flags they saw.

Lesley McCulloch, Melbourne – The message came via satellite phone. The caller was out of breath and desperate: 15 civilians shot dead by the Indonesian military, including two children. The location: the village of Tutut Sungaimas, West Aceh. The date: July 19.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Lhokseumawe – Tengku Hanafi, 65, was back at the Baktiya district office in North Aceh for the seventh time this week desperately inquiring as to when he could get his new red-and-white identity card.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Nani Farida, Lhokseumawe/Banda Aceh – The Martial Law Administration in Aceh is intensifying efforts to prevent Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders from fleeing the province or country, an official says.

War in Indonesia's Aceh province will last until separatist rebels are rooted out, the military said. "What is clear, the operation to crush Aceh separatist rebels is not limited to six months. As long as those rebels still exist, they will have to be rooted out," Aceh military commander Major General Endang Suwarya was quoted by the official Antara news agency as saying.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto apologized to the Acehnese people on Friday for what he called the negative impacts of the war there.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – William Nessen, an American freelance journalist who spent weeks traveling with independence-seeking guerrillas in the restive northwestern province of Aceh, went on trial Wednesday on charges of immigration violations.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Topo Susanto, a legal observer from the University of Indonesia's School of Law, said on Tuesday that despite the imposition of martial law, the martial law administration in Aceh did not have the power to impose martial law on civilians.