Jakarta – Acehnese separatist rebels have warned civil servants to stay away from state facilities, which they plan to attack.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) spokesman Tengku Sofyan Dawod said from the group's foreign base in Norsborg, Sweden, that the prior warning was issued to avoid futile fatalities in the long-standing conflict.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Abdullah Puteh held a closed-door meeting with activists of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) in Medan, North Sumatra on Thursday to familiarize them with the outcome of the peace talks in Geneva.

Banda Aceh – At least 153 refugees from Central and South Aceh were forced to leave the United Nations Resource Center (UNRC) compound in Banda Aceh, four days after they fled their homes due to increasing violence and security risks.

Kautsar, chairperson of the Acehnese Peoples Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), attended the second Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference in April to build support for the Acehnese people's struggle for self-determination. Kautsar spoke with Green Left Weekly's John Gauci.

Aceh rebels said they had detained nine female students because of their "close relationship" with Indonesian troops.

Eight high school students and one university student were detained in the Idi Cut area of East Aceh on Thursday and Friday at the request of their parents, said Free Aceh Movement (GAM) spokesman Ishak Daud.

Banda Aceh – A Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist leader in Aceh Besar, Ayah Sofyan, alias Zakaria Yahya, 37, was shot dead during a raid at a rebel base in Kuta Baro village on Saturday, officials and separatists confirmed. Five other people were also killed in the latest violence in Aceh during the weekend.

Gustavo Capdevila, Geneva – Delegates from the government of Indonesia and from the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have agreed to negotiate an and to hostilities and a process for electing democratic authorities for the northern Indonesian province of Aceh, an effort to be undertaken "with all speed".

Jakarta – Separatist violence continued in Aceh province on Sunday with at least five rebels killed in a gunfight with Indonesian Military (TNI) troops in Aceh Besar regency.

Pip Hinman, Sydney – The news that two Acehnese activists sought refuge in the Finnish embassy in Jakarta on April 10 didn't surprise Erwanto, an Acehnese activist currently visiting Australia. "Aceh is like hell on Earth", he said. "Already this year more than 700 people have been killed, almost all of them civilians.

Stockholm – East Timor's new president, former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao, on Monday urged Aceh separatists fighting for independence from Indonesia to follow East Timor's example and pursue a peaceful solution.

Banda Aceh – At least four more people including a soldier and a rebel have been killed in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, the military said Friday.

A soldier died Thursday in a 30-minute skirmish with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels in Bireuen district, said Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin.

Two soldiers and three separatist rebels have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province, the military and police said.

Lela E. Madjiah, Banda Aceh – The Indonesian Military (TNI) seems to be succeeding in its efforts to crush the armed separatist movement in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, with reports of an increasing number of armed separatists being killed and arrested, as well as a rise in the number of separatists surrendering.

Banda Aceh – Seven more people have been found dead over the past three days in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, aid workers and residents said Friday.

Jakarta – A request for political asylum by two civilian members of the Aceh separatist movement has been turned down by both the Finnish government and the United Nations refugee agency, an Indonesian minister said Thursday.

"The asylum request has been rejected because they did not qualify for it," top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters.

Jakarta – Two men claiming to be members of the Aceh separatist rebel movement entered the Finnish Embassy here yesterday and requested political asylum, saying they feared for their lives.

The pair met Ambassador Matti Pullinen before leaving the office voluntarily through a rear entrance.

Jakarta – Two members of the Infantry Battalion 141/Aneka Yudha Jayaperkasa under the Sriwijaya Military Command were killed in a rebel ambush in the restive Blang Mangat district ofNorth Aceh on Tuesday morning, according to news reports.

Banda Aceh – At least six people, including two soldiers and two separatist guerrillas, have been killed in violence in Indonesia's Aceh province, military and rebel spokesmen said Wednesday.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government has hinted at pursuing a security-minded approach, instead of dialog, in dealing with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), despite the increasing death toll from military operations in the troubled province.

Jakarta – Three people died in internal fighting within the Indonesian security forces in Aceh on Saturday as rebel leaders said they would attend fresh rounds of peace talks with the Indonesian government later this month in Switzerland.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesia has introduced Islamic law in Aceh in an attempt to create the illusion that syariah is the cure for all of the province's political problems.

Acehnese observers point out that the demand for syariah came not from the Acehnese community, but originated in Jakarta during the Habibie government.

Geneva – Fresh peace talks between Indonesian government officials and Aceh separatists could resume in Geneva at the end of the month, a spokesman for the centre that mediates the discussions said on Thursday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) will soon dispatch at least 1,850 replacement troops to the rebellious Aceh province, Deputy Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakrie said on Saturday.

The Indonesian military claimed to have killed 12 suspected separatist rebels in the restive province of Aceh over the weekend.

Four suspected separatist rebels and a public transport driver have been killed over the past three days in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, the military and residents said.

A local rebel leader identified as Usman bin Rahmad was killed in a gunfight with soldiers at Simpang Nalep in Bireun district on Thursday, Aceh military spokesman Major Zenal Muttaqin said.

Jakarta – An international research group says there is a "slim chance" for peace in the bloody 25-year separatist war in Indonesia's Aceh, but only with sustained international pressure on both sides.

Max Lane – Almost every day, details of the murder of Acehnese civilians by Indonesian military forces are reported by democratic and human rights organisations and international news agencies. At least 300 killings have been reported since January. More than 10,000 Acehnese have been killed in the last two decades.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province are demanding a ransom for three kidnapped oil company workers, the military said Wednesday.

The new leader of separatist rebels in Aceh called for foreign human rights activists to visit the province and investigate what he called past and present brutality by Indonesian troops.

Muzakir Manaf, military leader of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), said Monday foreign investigators must come to Aceh to witness "forced confiscation, molestation and arson" by soldiers.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province claimed Sunday to have shot dead 18 soldiers over the past three days, a claim denied by the security forces who said they had killed at least five rebels.

Banda Aceh – Fifteen killings have been reported over the past two days in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, the army and witnesses said Tuesday.

Banda Aceh – At least 12 people have been killed in the latest outbreak of violence in Indonesia's Aceh province on the weekend, police and residents said Sunday.

Jakarta – Almost all witnesses to a massacre of civilians in Indonesia's Aceh province last year said the army was to blame, an international rights group reported Friday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government plans to facilitate new peace talks that will include all parties in Aceh. This comes after a series of dialogs with rebel groups failed to live up to the aspirations of the majority in the province.

Banda Aceh – At least 14 people have been killed over the past two days in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, security officials and aid workers said Wednesday.

Banda Aceh – Seven separatist rebels and three soldiers have been killed in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, the military said Thursday.

Jakarta – The Aceh provincial administration will soon set up religious police to help effectively enforce Islamic syariah law in the rebellious province, a local senior official said on Tuesday.

Banda Aceh – The government is considering holding peace talks inside Indonesia to end the decades-long separatist conflict in Aceh province if dialogue held overseas fails, a top minister said Wednesday.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Muslims in Aceh who do not wear Islamic dress will be barred from urban areas from the middle of this month as the authorities start enforcing the Islamic syariah law.

The Acehnese provincial government yesterday announced they will enforce Islamic dress code as part of syariah law introduced in the province last year.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian troops have shot dead three suspected separatist rebel in the restive province of Aceh, the military said Sunday.

Max Lane – The chairperson of SMUR (Students in Solidarity with the People), Mahmudal, was arrested in Banda Aceh on February 19 during a demonstration organised by ORPAD (Acehnese Women's Democratic Organisation).

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh – At least seven people have been killed in the latest spate of violence since Friday in the restive province of Aceh, local authorities said on Monday.

Jakarta – No less than 200 members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were killed in armed contacts with the Indonesian Military (TNI) troops within the Teuku Umar Military Resort Command jurisdiction in 2001, a military officer claimed on Sunday.

Banda Aceh – Eight more killings were reported Thursday in Indonesia's strife-torn Aceh province as residents said special prayers for peace on the eve of the Muslim Day of Sacrifice.

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh – In a rare event in war-torn Aceh, more than 40 traders, all women, held a protest march in Banda Aceh against extortion and the local administration's corruption of government subsidies.

Max Lane – "It was extremely disappointing to see Australian Prime Minister John Howard shake hands so enthusiastically with Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Doesn't he know how her government treats the people, not just in Aceh, but all over Indonesia?", Aceh's outspoken democracy leader Kautsar told Green Left Weekly.

Banda Aceh – Plans by a paramilitary group to hold its first mass rally in Indonesia's Aceh province flopped yesterday, following strong objections from separatist rebels and other Acehnese.

Laskar Jihad chief Jaffar Umar Thalib took over the podium at the main Baiturrahman mosque in the provincial capital Banda Aceh following late afternoon prayers, witnesses said.

Australian researcher Lesley McCulloch meets three teenagers who have become unwitting players in the long running secessionist war in the Indonesian province of Aceh. The Indonesian armed forces used a combination of enticement and coercion to recruit them as military informers. Now they are effectively prisoners of the separatist rebels.

Widjajanto/Dyah Prabandari, Jakarta – The United States offered to facilitate in solving the Acehnese problem. This statement by US Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce caught people's attention.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – A peace negotiator from the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Wednesday welcomed US willingness to help Indonesia resolve a long-running conflict with the separatist group. An Indonesian government official said it wasn't clear what the United States had in mind.