Jakarta – The Army Chief General Endriartono Sutarto yesterday said police have not been able to fight a separatist movement in Aceh. Speaking in the Central Java capital of Semarang, he said an immediate military operation could be the only way to end the bloodshed in the troubled province.

Banda Aceh – Armed men on Saturday attacked army troops securing the capital of Indonesia's troubled Aceh province ahead of next week's presidential visit, police said. A skirmish broke out between a team of military and police and rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Banda Aceh – The situation in Aceh during the year of 2000 has not significantly improved, said Coordinator Deputy of Aceh Commission for Missing Persons & Victims of Violence (Kontras), Fouad Ismail. The government still commits violence, which adds the long list of human rights violation in Aceh.

Agencies in Jakarta – A human rights worker has given a chilling account of narrowly escaping a group execution in Aceh province in which four people were shot dead.

Banda Aceh – Eight policemen and soldiers were injured in separatist rebel attacks on security posts and a natural gas facility in Indonesia's Aceh province, police and residents said Tuesday.

Reuters in Jakarta – Three Indonesian humanitarian volunteers attached to a Danish-sponsored rights group have been tortured and shot dead in Aceh, underscoring the growing threat to aid workers and civilians in the rebellious province.

Jakarta – Two men were wounded in an attack Saturday evening on the residence of Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh located on Jl. SA Mahmudsyah in Banda Aceh. The two victims are Hilal Hasballah, head of the West Aceh Public Works Office, and his driver, Ismail, Antara reported Sunday.

Jacqueline Koch, Banda Aceh – Demur and modestly veiled in scarves, young women circulate through Aceh's coffee shops, food stalls and open markets.

Youth and gender shield them from suspicion as they listen to snatches of conversation and note who meets whom. Most are in their early 20s and not yet married, but they are known as the inong bale, or widows.

Aceh – Separatist rebels have stepped up attacks on military and police installations in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, leaving three people dead.

Jakarta – The Free Aceh Movement's (GAM) Peurlak war commander, Sahrul bin Idris, 35, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison on Thursday by the Medan District Court.

Presiding Judge NK Simatupang said Sahrul was convicted of illegally possessing an AK-47 weapon with 150 bullets, thus violating article 1 of Law No. 12/1950 on Civil Emergency.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian security forces have killed three humanitarian workers and a torture victim they were escorting in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, a rights activist said Thursday.

Banda Aceh – At least 15 people have been killed and five others injured in separate violent incidents here following the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)'s 24th anniversary on Monday, the security forces and residents said on Tuesday.

Agencies in Banda Aceh and Jakarta – In a bid to ease separatist tensions in the predominantly Muslim province of Aceh, Jakarta said yesterday it would offer Islamic law. The offer came as police forcibly pulled down hundreds of independence flags.

Banda Aceh – Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commander Abdulah Syafi'iled a military ceremony to commemorate the movement's 24th anniversary in Batee Iliek in the regency of Bireuen, Aceh, and pledged to continue the struggle for freedom.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government has tried to buy hearts and minds in the troubled province of Aceh ahead of the separatists' declaration of independence anniversary today, but few believe the promises anymore.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – In an apparent move to win the hearts of secessionists in Aceh, Jakarta announced yesterday it was stepping up efforts to speed up preparation of a special autonomy package, and would disburse humanitarian and financial aid worth 100 billion rupiah to the province.

Jakarta – The government confirmed on Friday it would not extend the humanitarian pause in restive Aceh province but would turn to stiff measures if the separatist rebel group failed to show commitment to peace.

Banda Aceh – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is seeking to delay further talks with the government of Indonesia scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland on December 5 and December 6.

Spokesman for GAM at the Geneva talks, Sofyan Ibrahim Diba, told reporters here on Thursday that when GAM agreed to the dates, no one remembered that December 4 was the anniversary of GAM.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian police opened fire and killed five people in the restive province of Aceh, just four days prior to the 25th anniversary of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), residents said Friday.

James Balowski – For the first time since the overthrow of former President Suharto, the Indonesian government has arrested and charged a human rights activist under the notorious "sowing hatred" articles of the Indonesian Criminal Code. The maximum sentence is six year's jail.

Tim Dodd – Like the two frayed ends of a rope, the provinces at either end of the 5,000km-long Indonesian archipelago are the weak points which look ready to unravel the country.

They are like two opposite poles which are pulling at Indonesia's fragile unity – Aceh, the Muslim province at the extreme west and Irian Jaya, the mainly Christian province in the extreme east.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Parliament maintained a "soft" approach to the separatist movements in Aceh yesterday by rejecting civil-emergency status and promising better law enforcement for the troubled province. But it underlined that Jakarta would not tolerate further questioning of its sovereignty.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – Putting an end to months of policy drift, the Indonesian government is set to issue today an ultimatum to the Free Aceh separatist movement GAM: Start negotiations in the next seven weeks or we will wipe you out when the current "humanitarian pause" expires.

Vaudine England – Police arrested Aceh's leading student activist and yesterday threatened imposition of emergency rule if progress was not made towards dialogue.

The activist, Muhammad Nazar, heads the Information Centre for a Referendum in Aceh (Sira), which is lobbying for Acehnese to be allowed to choose independence or continued rule by Jakarta.

Jakarta – At least 150 Acehnese youths living in Jakarta staged a protest outside National Police headquarters yesterday, demanding the release of Muhammad Nazar, head of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA).

Jakarta – Renewed clashes between government troops and separatist rebels have left at least five people dead in Indonesia's Aceh province, police and rights workers said Friday.

Supt. Herarus Sumarman, the local police chief, said three people died when guerrillas attacked a police patrol on Wednesday in the west of the province, 1,750 kilometers northwest of Jakarta.

Rayhan Anas Lubis/Fitri & PT, Banda Aceh – The Greater Aceh Police has released a warrant to apprehend the head of the Information Center for the Aceh Referendum (SIRA) Muhammad Nazar. If he is not found within two or three days, Muhammad Nazar would be listed as a fugitive by the Greater Aceh Police.

Banda Aceh – The Indonesian government and the separatist Aceh Merdeka movement (GAM) issued a joint call Thursday for restraint to stop the violence in the troubled province of Aceh.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – Support for independence in troubled Aceh has reached fever pitch and separatists say the campaign's momentum now is almost unstoppable. Indonesia largely has its own security forces to blame, they say.

Muharram M. Nur, Banda Aceh – With a peace process in shambles and violence escalating, about 50,000 people rallied in Indonesia's Aceh province Tuesday to demand independence.

James Balowski – Some 400,000 people converged on the capital of Indonesia's nothernmost province of Aceh, Banda Aceh, on November 10 for a two-day independence rally, despite scores of killings by security forces trying to prevent demonstrators attending.

Lukmanul Hakim/GB, Jakarta – Results of polling carried out by the Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA) show that a clear majority of Acehnese would chose independence from Indonesia. 92% of recipients chose to break with the republic.

Banda Aceh – Separatists in the Indonesian province of Aceh threatened Tuesday to launch a campaign of civil disobedience to win independence as police in Jakarta called for a free hand to crack down on the rebels.

Banda Aceh – The people of the troubled northern Indonesian province of Aceh were on the move.

Once again political developments in Indonesia have reached a crisis point and once again President Abdurrahman Wahid is abroad – this time traveling to Qatar to attend an Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting, then to Brunei for the annual Apec summit photo-ops. Crises perhaps seek out Wahid absences or, given the frequency of both, there are bound to be coincidences.

Banda Aceh – Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Indonesia's restive Aceh province, was calm early Sunday as the death toll linked to two days of pro-independence rallies reached 35. "So far, it appears to be calm this morning, but yesterday there were talks of continuing the street rallies today," a local journalists said.

Chris McCall, Jakarta and Agencies in Banda Aceh – Almost 400,000 people converged on Banda Aceh, capital of Indonesia's Aceh province, for a two-day independence rally after President Abdurrahman Wahid urged troops to let it go ahead following the deaths of 26 people.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – Hundreds of thousands of people gathered yesterday in and around the capital of Aceh province for a huge two-day independence rally, despite scores of killings by security forces trying to frighten off demonstrators.

Banda Aceh – President Abdurrahman Wahid blamed the army and police Friday for the escalating violence in Aceh province and the deaths of at least 19 civilians before a separatist rally.

Pidie – Hundreds of thousands tried to beat tight security Thursday to reach the capital of Indonesia's troubled Aceh province for a pro-independence rally, as police and residents said 16 people had died in two days of violence.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Aceh, one of the proudest and most defiant of Indonesia's provinces, has become the first province in the reform era to elect its own Governor, defying Jakarta's calls to wait until security improves.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian troops killed at least six people Wednesday as thousands streamed toward the capital of the province of Aceh for a massive two-day pro-independence rally, residents said.

Jakarta – Some 2,000 pro-independence Acehnese staged a huge rally in front of the UN office in the Indonesian capital Wednesday demanding international intervention to end the fighting in the rebellious state.

Banda Aceh – The provincial parliament in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh has elected a new governor as violence between government forces and separatist rebels killed at least seven people, reports and police said Sunday.

Rayhan Anas Lubis/GB, Banda Aceh – The offices of the Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA) in Banda Aceh, capital of Indonesias violence-ridden northern-most province, were raided over night by members of the police Mobile Brigade.

Banda Aceh – Three policemen and a civilian were killed as separatist rebels and Indonesian government forces clashed in the restive province of Aceh, police said Thursday.

Banda Aceh – At least seven bodies were found, one of them of a policeman, in the separatist-plagued Indonesian province of Aceh, police and residents said Monday.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Months after an accord was signed between Aceh's separatist rebels and the Indonesian Government, the brutal war in the province has deepened.

[Who is a Free Aceh rebel, how does he operate, and what fuels Aceh's separatist war? Lee Kim Chew visited the guerilla bases in the strife-torn north Sumatran province to find out. This is the first of three articles.]

Jakarta – Indonesian forces shot dead three alleged rebels during armed clashes in the troubled province of Aceh in north Sumatra, as separatist representatives seek a team to probe the escalating violence there, reports said Wednesday.