Jakarta – The Indonesian military on Thursday sent hundreds of troops into troubled Aceh province to search for the bodies of seven soldiers killed in an ambush and find three others held hostage.

Jakarta - Seven off-duty soldiers in western Indonesia's troubled Aceh province were tortured and killed in an ambush which the military said Wednesday was orchestrated by separatists.

Fourteen non-governmental organisations in Aceh have issued a joint statement in response to the decision announced two weeks ago by the armed forces commander, General Wiranto, to end Aceh's status as a military operational region, to withdraw non-organic troops from the region, and to make an apology for the past actions of Indonesian troops in the region.

Earlier this year, in April 1998, the Swiss Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, became entangled in a diplomatic and humanitarian scandal of international proportion. Together with the French and Bruneian Embassies, it handed over 27 refugees from the Indonesian province of Aceh, who had sought political asylum in those embassies, to the Malaysian police.

Names: Hassan Hamid, 40; Mohammad Daud Abubakar; Ismail Syahputra; Raman Palu; Nijar Kandang; Tengku Affan; Inur Marlia (f).

The Indonesian military has accused Muslim separatists in Aceh province of attempting to sabotage the huge nearby Arun gas field.

The security commander of northern Sumatra including Aceh, Major-General Sedaryanto, says the sabotage had been planned for a long time, but did NOT say what the plan entailed.