Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta/Jakarta – Chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif of Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim organization, reiterated on Monday his call for the government to end the war in Aceh and reopen dialog with the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has asked foreign and Indonesian journalists working for foreign media to temporarily leave Aceh, following a recent presidential decree that restricts foreign news coverage of the ongoing operation to crush separatists.

Lhokseumawe – Three dozen British-made Scorpion tanks have joined Indonesian troops in Aceh to fight local separatists, risking further dispute with the European country.

The heavily armed tanks arrived on Sunday as part of the reinforcements from the West Java-based First Cavalry Battalion of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

One month has passed since the "integrated operations" under the auspices of a military emergency were launched to settle the Aceh conflict once and for all, and the question has become, are we moving closer to a solution? Judging by the latest events and most recent statements, it is anybody's guess.

Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, Jakarta – The martial law in the province of Aceh was issued in a decree signed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri. The decision was taken based on the reasoning that a comprehensive approach and dialog had failed to change the separatist intentions of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) from unitary state of Indonesia (NKRI).

Army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu says American journalist William Nessen, who has spent the past six weeks with separatist rebels in Aceh province, could be punished by death if he is proven to be a spy.

A'an Suryana and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) called on Friday for an end to the military operation in Aceh, slamming it as having failed to live up to its initial objectives.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The martial law administration in Aceh has moved to tighten control over media reporting on the current military operation in the troubled province with defiant journalists facing the threat of expulsion from the area.

YS Tong, Banda Aceh – They see with their eyes the victims of almost every battle, dead or alive, in conflict-torn Aceh province, located at the tip of northern Sumatra.

Banda Aceh (AFP) – More than 170 civilians have become casualties in the first month of Indonesia's military offensive against separatist rebels in Aceh province, a human rights group report said on Saturday.

Jakarta/Banda Aceh – House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung on Friday called on the Aceh martial law administration to release detained politicians who supported the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists out of fear rather than voluntarily.

Banda Aceh – A bloody clash between Indonesian troops and rebels in troubled Aceh killed at least 12 people, a military official said on Thursday, showing the war to crush the rebellion was far from over.

Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Leading the life of a human rights activist working in war-torn Aceh is obviously not something that everyone is cut out for.

Intimidation, assault, abduction and even murder have long been occupational hazards for activists in the province, which has been the scene of a bloody conflict for over 27 years.

Nur Raihan, Banda Aceh – Two volunteers from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Zakaria (72) and Nuraini (27), have been held by the Pidie district police since Friday morning.

Tiarma Siboro & Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe – After one month attempting to crush independence rebels in Aceh, the Indonesian Military (TNI) says it is to change strategy so as to intensify night operations.

Jakarta (AFP) – Indonesian police said Friday that more than 100 civilians have been killed during a month-long military offensive to crush separatist rebels in Aceh province.

National police spokesman Col. Zainuri Lubis said the victims have been identified by their families, who denied they were members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Arif Shodiq Pujiharto, Jakarta – They were intending to hold an action opposing violence against civilians in Aceh. But because they carried pictures of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice-president Hamzah Haz which had been crossed out, two demonstrators were arrested by police.

Meulaboh (Antara) – A commander of Aceh's separatist movement has surrendered to the Indonesian military, reportedly disillusioned by the rebel group's extortion and kidnapping activities, a military officer said here Thursday.

Matthew Moore – The Indonesian Government has issued new rules restricting access by foreigners to Aceh, but has not imposed a feared complete ban.

Pidie/Jakarta – While in most parts of Aceh people seek shelter to get away from the frequent gunfights between government troops and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) fighters, hundreds of residents in Pidie have been displaced following a military search for rebels.

YS Tong, Banda Aceh – Thousands of unarmed Acehnese civilians from Banda Aceh began to gather in a field as early as 7am on Tuesday for what has now become a routine activity since the military operation started in late May.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government issued on Tuesday a decree that restricts foreigners from traveling to the war-torn province of Aceh.

Jakarta – Most of the human rights workers in Aceh feel threatened with arbitrary arrest if they try to continue working in war-torn Aceh as the martial law administration in the province has alleged that they are involved with armed separatists.

Michael Casey, Jakarta, Indonesia – An American journalist on the run with rebels in Aceh province said Wednesday that Indonesia's military wants to detain him on trumped-up charges and possibly shoot him.

Freelance journalist William Nessen defied a military order to surrender to the army by June 14, saying he first needs assurances he will not be jailed.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian Red Cross workers have removed 194 bodies from conflict zones in the western province of Aceh since a military offensive against rebels there began last month, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Just hours after claiming significant progress in its operation to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and its supporters, the Indonesian military (TNI) on June 9 lost seven soldiers in an ambush in the Bireuen regency in northern Aceh.

Max Lane – When Hasan de Tiro proclaimed the independent state of Aceh and launched the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front, also known as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), in 1978, he attracted little support.

Acehnese refugees forced into camps to escape fighting between Indonesian troops and separatist rebels are suffering health problems due to overcrowding and lack of clean water.

Almost 41,000 people have been moved into the tented camps, sometimes against their will, during the first month of a major offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement.

Banda Aceh, Aceh – Some 507 school buildings have been set on fire in 10 districts in Aceh since the Indonesian government launched a military offensive in the restive province on May 19, leaving 70,000 students with no place to study.

A major Indonesian military assault on separatist rebels in Aceh province could continue for five more months, the army and armed forces chiefs said.

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – Indonesia's most sophisticated jet fighters dropped bombs and fired rockets at rebel positions on Monday, in their first airstrike during the first month of war against Free Aceh Movement (GAM) units.

Monday's airstrike was the first time that the American F-16 Fighting Falcon was used in combat since Indonesia purchased the jets in 1996.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The central government and the martial law administration in Aceh will expand the scope of a proposed screening program to local elected representatives and village heads in the war-torn province.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – An American freelance journalist who has spent five weeks with Acehnese separatist rebels says the fighting and casualties are much more extensive than reported and the rebels retain overwhelming support among villagers.

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – Over 10,000 Acehnese people staying in a refugee camp in Bireuen regency are facing a shortage of clean water as the military offensive enters its fifth week.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Resolving the conflict in Aceh through war will only increase the number of civilian casualties.

For this reason, around 200 students from the Peace Committee for Humanity (Komite Perdamian untuk Kemanusiaan, KPK) held a demonstration calling for the war between the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to be stopped.

The government's announcement that Acehnese working for the administration must undergo special screenings is the latest in a series of measures, introduced since the imposition of martial law, that will only further alienate the people of Aceh.

Lhokseumawe – At least 10,000 people fled their homes in nine villages across Juli district in Bireuen regency on Friday to escape intense firefights between government troops and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Bernie K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – A convoy of five marine trucks, two armored personnel carriers and a tank rumbled into Pulo Ara village, a group of wooden houses on a sandy beach and nestled among banana and palm trees.

Greg Sheridan – Indonesia has no plans to ban foreign journalists from the troubled province of Aceh, according to Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hasan Wirayudah. But it will tighten the regulation over who goes there and make the province, on the northern tip of Sumatra, off limits to foreign tourists.

Lhokseumawe – People in Bireuen regency flocked to their respective district offices on Wednesday and Thursday to apply for new ID cards, in one of the first places in war-torn Aceh where the martial law administration is attempting to separate separatist rebels from civilians.

Lhokseumawe – The military's biggest setback during three weeks of the offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has prompted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu to seek a quick end to the war, but added his troops were ready to fight the rebels for as long as it took.

Indonesian troops fired artillery and moved hundreds of villagers from their homes during an attack on a suspected separatist rebel base, a local resident said.

The resident heard 38 rounds fired throughout the morning towards a hilly area in Juli sub-district just south of Bireuen town. The private RCTI television station also showed pictures of artillery being fired.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – Two members of the Aceh regional parliament (DPRD) are reported to be involved with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and are being investigated by police. Vice-president Hamzah Haz who is also the chairperson of the United Development Party (PPP) has invited security personnel to investigate those members of his party who are involved with GAM.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for People' Welfare Jusuf Kalla insisted on Wednesday that the martial law administrator in Aceh would issue a new measure soon, to bar all foreigners from entering the province.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government is planning new regulations to restrict foreign access to the war-torn Aceh province, as evidence emerges that the Indonesian army has trained militia groups to help its military offensive against the separatist movement GAM.

Banda Aceh – All of Aceh's 67,000 civil servants will be re-registered and asked to attend roll-calls to affirm their loyalty to the country, a regional administration spokesman said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military said Thursday it will check reports from the country's national human rights commission that a mass grave has been discovered in Aceh province.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) told AFP Wednesday that its representatives in Aceh had received information about a grave believed to contain dozens of bodies.

Jakarta – The Aceh provincial administration's plan to screen 67,000 civil servants and "severely punish" those found to support the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has sparked criticism.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's Red Cross said on Wednesday it had taken 151 bodies to hospitals and morgues in Aceh since a fresh military offensive against rebels began, adding all victims had been wearing civilian clothes.

James Balowski – At around 9pm on June 4, two German tourists camping out near Lueng Gayo beach in the sub-district of Teunom in West Aceh were fired on by Indonesian troops (TNI). Lothar Heinrich Albert (54) died from a bullet wound to the chest and his wife, Elisabeth Engel (50), was shot in the knee. She is now being treated at the regional military command hospital.