At least 10 people were wounded when a bomb exploded among a crowd of civil servants preparing to celebrate Indonesia's independence day in the Acehnese capital, officals said.

Bernarda Rurit, Jakarta – TNI did not force the Acehnese to display the Red-and-White flag to celebrate Indonesian Independence Day on August 17, according to Indonesian Army spokesperson Brigadier General Ratyono.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The ethnically distinct and mostly conflict-free districts of central Aceh want Jakarta to let them break free from Aceh and establish a new province, preferably before next week.

They want to avoid being drawn into violent conflict when tougher military operations against separatist rebels are launched.

Jakarta – More than 700 Achenese demanded independence from Indonesia during a demonstration in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Thursday, just two days before the anniversary of Indonesia's independence.

Jakarta – The top United States military officer in the Pacific yesterday urged Indonesia to avoid bloodshed in Aceh, where there are increasing signs that the government is preparing to launch a major offensive against separatist rebels.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) has urged the Swiss-based Henry Dunant Center (HDC) to persuade the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to end their armed struggle.

Jakarta – In a new role, General Anthony Zinni, the Bush administration's envoy to the Middle East, has met Indonesian officials in an effort to find a solution to the long-running but little publicised guerrilla conflict in Aceh, the nation's resource-rich northern province.

Jakarta – US retired General Anthony Zinni on Thursday said he was optimistic peace could prevail in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province if Jakarta and separatists push for talks.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Legislators at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) renewed their calls on Wednesday for the government to give priority to dialog in solving the Aceh problem.

Jakarta – An independent team of five prominent public figures is working to expedite a solution to the conflict in Aceh, advising the government not to impose a state of civil emergency on the restive province.

Jakarta – A retired US general, who has been mediating between Jakarta and the rebels in Aceh, said on Thursday that the only way to achieve peace in the restive province was through talks.

Medan – Hundreds of Acehnese refugees clashed with police and public order officers in the North Sumatra governor's office in Medan on Tuesday, a report said.

At least four people were seriously injured, dozens of others slightly wounded while several women fainted during the clash at 10.15am. The building was also damaged.

Retired US General Anthony Zinni held talks with the military chief of Indonesia's Aceh province as part of efforts to pave the way for more talks between Jakarta and separatist rebels.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Washington's Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni, now on a tour of Aceh, is pushing for peace talks to resolve the conflict between the Jakarta government and the rebels. But his efforts are likely to be hampered by Jakarta's plan for a new military operation to be announced soon, say observers.

Retired US General Anthony Zinni set out for Aceh's sensitive Pidie district, where Indonesian troops said they shot dead two alleged separatist rebels a day earlier.

Zinni, who has mediated in talks between Indonesia's government and separatist rebels in Aceh, arrived in the province Monday as Jakarta said it was preparing for more discussions with the insurgents.

Berni K. Moestafa and Nani Farida, Jakarta – The government plans to announce today a new policy to quell the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in what many fear might revive the bloody history of military operations there and extend the long list of human rights abuses perpetrated against the Acehnese.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Several party factions at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) criticized on Saturday President Megawati Soekarnoputri's use of the military in Aceh, urging the president to prioritize dialog to settle the prolonged armed conflict.

Sidney Jones – A war between independence fighters and the Indonesian military has claimed thousands of lives in Aceh in two major waves of violence.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri Thursday promised tougher action against rebels in Aceh as part of efforts to end various conflicts in the country, even as she claimed the threat of disintegration around the country was subsiding.

Jakarta – The military and police in Aceh are anticipating a mass strike during the celebration of Independence Day on August 17 in the restive province.

Police chief Insp. Gen. Yusuf Manggabarani told a media conference the security personnel had heard rumors of a mass strike circulating in the westernmost province.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military chief said on Tuesday the problems in rebellious Aceh province should be resolved through dialogue but that separatists must drop their call for an independent state.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri's performance in dealing with rebellious Aceh province is worse than her two predecessors Abdurrahman Wahid and B.J. Habibie, says an Australian observer.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military said its troops shot dead on Friday at least 13 men believed to be separatist rebels in troubled Aceh province, where thousands have died in more than two decades of fighting.

Lesley McCulloch – In the remote area of Aceh Tengah (central Aceh) there is a new and growing problem for the civilian population: the presence of Indonesian-backed militia. The rarely visited area has experienced a devastating attack on its social and economic fabric.

Dan Murphy, Banda Aceh – It's pretty safe here, reassures a local driver, ushering his car past a group of Indonesian soldiers. The sun glints off flooded rice paddies and silver-domed mosques tucked away in tiny villages.

Then he issues the warning: "Don't go out after 9." As for the surrounding villages: "I wouldn't go," he says.

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, Lhokseumawe – Local community members have joined the Aceh administration in opposing the central government's plan to impose a state of emergency in the restive province to stop decades of separatist fighting.

Lesley McCulloch, Banda Aceh – He speaks in barely a whisper, his mind frozen in the moments of horror when he thought he would die.

Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais says the government should not hesitate to take drastic measures against "troublemakers" in Aceh rebellious Aceh province.

"If necessary, cut off the hands of those troublemakers," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara on Monday.

Yogita Tahilramani and Edith Hartanto, Jakarta – Those living in strife-torn Aceh, particularly outside the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, have known fear all of their lives.

Arifin Asydhad, Jakarta – The Chairperson of the Achenese Women's Democratic Organisation (ORPAD), Reihan Diany, has been detained by the Aceh Besar district police since Sunday. The detention of the Achenese woman activist is considered to be an irrational act. Police are therefore being called on to release her.

The Indonesian military says it has killed four separatist rebels in troubled Aceh province.

Soldiers gunned down two Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels during a gunfight at Peusangan in Bireun district on Saturday, said provincial military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin. Two other guerillas managed to escape.

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, Banda Aceh – Thousands of refugees in Aceh will completely lose access to aid and food supplies due to blocked lines of transportation if, as expected, a civilian emergency is imposed in this restive province.

Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Acehnese expressed disbelief on Friday over the government's insistence on imposing a state of emergency in the restive province, stressing that all social layers in Aceh had expressed their rejection to any state of emergency.

Jacqueline Koch – Jakarta has again raised the stakes for the resource-rich and restive province of Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, where Indonesia faces an entrenched independence movement.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government is still pursuing its plan to impose a state of emergency in the restive province of Aceh, ignoring strong opposition from the provincial administration, councillors and students as well as non-governmental organizations there.

The Indonesian military said it has killed 12 separatist rebels in troubled Aceh province.

Soldiers killed eight Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members in a 30-minute encounter at Alam Jeumpa in West Aceh district on Wednesday, said provincial military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin.

Jakarta – Most Indonesians and parliament would back the government if it imposed civil emergency status on the rebellious Aceh region, Indonesia's top security minister said on Thursday.

Seven young women belonging to a pro-democracy group in rebellious Aceh province have been arrested for insulting President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz.

Rachel Clarke – Indonesia's leaders are trying to work out what to do next with strife-torn Aceh.

More troops could be sent to the northern province, a civil emergency could be declared to give the authorities more powers or full military law could be imposed.

Bangkok – The Aceh separatists' regional connection was bared after police in Thailand seized a major arms cache, including 68 AK-47 rifles, bound for the rebels in Indonesia's troubled northern province.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Despite public opposition to a state of emergency in Aceh, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked the President to deploy 8,000 more troops to the restive province.

Lesley McCulloch – The pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Aceh has been viewed with skepticism by many for some time. But now confirmation of the Indonesian government's lack of commitment to the peace process seems imminent.

Nani Farida and Muhammad Nafik, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – As most Acehnese have rejected the government's proposal that a state of civil emergency be imposed on the restive province, there is no option left for the government except to forge ahead with dialog, activists and legislators said on Sunday.

Jakarta – Over 60 per cent of Indonesians back the imposition of a civil emergency in the restive Aceh province, according to a nationwide survey.

Jane Perlez, Lhokseumawe – The silvery pipes that extract hundreds of millions of dollars in natural gas a year for Exxon Mobil glint in the tropical sun here, a glittering contrast to the ramshackle huts and rice fields of the villagers nearby.

Atika Shubertm Jakarta – In another sign of Indonesia's crackdown in the restive province of Aceh, Chief Security Minister Bambang Yudhoyono will investigate suggestions the region's peace talks negotiator is not impartial.

John Aglionby – The Indonesian government currently finds itself at a major crossroads over its policy towards Aceh, the province on the northern tip of Sumatra where separatists have been waging an armed struggle for independence since 1976, driven on by decades of broken promises of greater autonomy from successive regimes in Jakarta.

The Indonesian Government is at a crossroads in its long running war with separatist rebels in its rebellious province of Aceh ... a conflict which has been dogging Jakarta for almost 30 years. Jakarta is considering whether it should continue floundering peace talks abroad with GAM, Aceh's separatist rebel group or whether it should cancel the talks and impose martial law.

Jakarta – Aceh councillors warned the central government on Wednesday against imposing either a civil emergency or martial law in the province, arguing that the move would only worsen the security situation there.

In a meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, they also urged Jakarta to fulfill its previous promises.

Vice President Hamzah Haz has pointed a finger of blame at disgruntled generals who, he implied, have been destabilizing the restive province of Aceh by penetrating the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Amid the controversy concerning the government's plan to impose martial law in response to the continuing violence in Aceh, Haz has questioned who is the mastermind behind GAM.