Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military said yesterday it had killed 128 Aceh separatist rebels in the month since martial law over the province was controversially extended.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members were killed between November 20 and December 21, said provincial military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki.

Banda Aceh – Four suspected separatist guerrillas and one civilian became the latest casualties of fighting between rebels and government forces in the Indonesian province of Aceh, the military said yesterday.

Troops clashed with rebels in Pasi Raja, South Aceh, Friday and shot dead two rebels, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Yani Basuki said.

Banda Aceh – The involvement of civil society in efforts to fight the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are becoming increasingly enthusiastic in a number of regencies in Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesia has described as baseless a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report alleging gross abuses by troops fighting separatist rebels in Aceh province.

Banda Aceh – Three armed Aceh rebels were killed in gunfights with government troops in North Aceh and East Aceh districts on Wednesday, a military spokesman said Thursday.

Urip Hudiono and Nani Farida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Indonesia risks losing its international credibility if it fails to stop abuses by the military against civilians in Aceh and ensure that perpetrators of the human rights violations are brought to justice, an international rights group warns.

Banda Aceh – Two Indonesian soldiers of the Army Strategic and Reserve Command (Kostrad) were killed by rebels in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province on Tuesday, it was reported here on Wednesday.

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakkir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – In a bid to ensure that the Acehnese can exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections, rights campaigner Todung Mulya Lubis has called for a delay in the elections pending the lifting of martial law there.

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – Indonesia's military is waging an extensive campaign of extra-judicial killings, kidnapping and torture in Aceh province, mostly targeting young men and forcing thousands to flee their homes, a human rights group said.

The Indonesian military in Aceh is pursuing a campaign of killings, "disappearances" and beatings of civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Acehnese refugees interviewed in Malaysia revealed widespread abuses in the Indonesian province, which has been effectively closed to observers since martial law was imposed in May.

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Farida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Amid mounting criticism over restrictions on the press and independent groups in the war-torn province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, the Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Monday that the presence of foreign teams monitoring next year's elections in the province was not necessarily needed.

Banda Aceh – Three rebels and three civilians have been killed in Aceh province over the past two days as an offensive against separatist guerrillas continues, the military said on Tuesday.

The news filtered through as legislators in Jakarta urged the government to give soldiers and police serving in the province a hefty increase in allowances.

Banda Aceh – The troubled province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam still needs 20,000 more teachers for elementary schools, junior high schools and senior high schools in 20 districts and municipalities.

"Aceh still needs 20,000 more teachers to teach at different schools," spokesman for the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Provincial Education Office Bustamam Aly said on Sunday.

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – Pressure on the press in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam has claimed another victim after the Indonesian Military (TNI) allegedly forced a local biweekly tabloid to stop publishing in the war-torn province.

Jakarta – The international community through the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) has asked to prioritize a peaceful solution of the conflict in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province.

Indonesian troops said they had uncovered an arms cache and a weapons factory in Aceh province, where soldiers and police have been battling separatist rebels since May.

Soldiers found weapons including a home-made grenade launcher, guns, rifles and ammunition at Nisam in North Aceh, provincial military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki said yesterday.

Jakarta – Acehnese rebels celebrated the 27th anniversary of their independence struggle yesterday with the sporadic raising of flags and a rare battlefield success, killing four soldiers and injuring two in clashes across the restive province.

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakkir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – Celebrations marking the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) anniversary proceeded in the province on Thursday despite the heavy military presence there to prevent the observance.

Tiarma Siboro and Teuku Agam Muzakkir, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe – Despite warnings and threats of attacks by the Indonesian Military (TNI), the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) plans on celebrating its 27th anniversary, which falls on December 4.

An international rights group called for the immediate and unconditional lifting of press restrictions in Indonesia's Aceh province, where a major military campaign to crush separatist rebels is in its seventh month.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military said Friday it has killed four more rebels in Aceh province, where troops are in the seventh month of an offensive to crush separatist guerrillas.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Nani Farida, Jakarta/Banda – Aceh Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said the government has not dropped the option of having the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) included on the United Nations' list of terrorist organizations.

Matthew Moore, Banda Aceh – Six months after more than 600 of Aceh's schools were destroyed by fire, virtually none have been rebuilt and thousands of students can't go to school.

And some temporary schools built after the fires are in such poor condition that enough rainwater leaks through holes in the roof to allow grass to grow on the dirt floor.

Jakarta – The Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked the regional military commander Major General Endang Suwarya to improve the quality of the integrated operation in Aceh.

The Indonesian government's war against separatist rebels in Aceh has today entered its seventh month, with no end in sight to the bloodshed. Already some 16,000 have been killed in what has been described as Jakarta's biggest military operation in 25-years.

Matthew Moore, Lhokseumawe – Pro-military groups critical of human rights activists are emerging in Indonesia's conflict-ridden Aceh province, raising fears of a resurgence of East Timor-style militias.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government has backed down on its plan to have the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) listed as a terrorist organization by the United Nations to avoid turning Aceh into an international issue.

Jakarta – At least 16 suspected Acehnese rebels were killed and nine arrested during a military offensive in Aceh from Thursday to Saturday, the Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Sunday.

A press release issued by the TNI said four civilians were also killed in the operation.

Lesley McCulloch – It is too easy for the world to forget Aceh, an embattled, silent and closed province in the northwest of Indonesia. The reason is simple: international journalists are prevented from entering legally and the local media are either embedded in the military or attacked – even kidnapped – when attempting to work independently.

Indonesian troops have killed nine more separatist rebels in Aceh province, the military said.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta - Commemorating Hero's Day on Monday November 10, scores of student activist from the Yogyakarta Indonesian Youth Front for Struggle (Front Perjuangan Pemuda Indonesia, FPPI) held an action rejecting the extension of the military emergency in Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesia has slammed the US, Japan and European Union for issuing a statement regretting the extension of martial law in Aceh province.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegwawa said the joint statement of the three powers was improper and smelt of interference in Indonesian sovereignty.

Banda Aceh – Suspected Acehnese rebel commander Efendi Saputra committed suicide in his prison cell in Lhokseumawe district on Sunday, military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki said onMonday.

"Efendi Saputra, a subdistrict commander of the Acehnese separatist movement in North Aceh, hanged himself with a nylon rope," Basuki said in Lhokseumawe.

ID Nugroho and Tiarma Siboro, Situbondo/Jakarta – Aceh military operation commander Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono will be replaced after leading the major offensive against rebels for almost six months.

Jakarta - Condemnations against the government's decision to extend the military emergency in Aceh continue to spring up. On Saturday November 8, hundreds of people from Aceh Papua Solidarity (SAP) demonstrated, not just against the policy of extending the military emergency in Aceh but also the division of Papua [into three separate provinces].

Hestiana Dharmastuti, Jakarta - Around 2500 people from Aceh Papua Solidarity (Solidaritas Aceh Papua, SAP) will hold a demonstration rejecting the extension of the military emergency in Aceh. The demonstrators will hold a long march from the Hotel Indonesia roundabout to the offices of the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security and the Presidential Palace.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesia warned against foreign meddling on Friday after the United States, Europe and Japan expressed concern over Jakarta's decision to extend martial law in rebellious Aceh province.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Experts criticized on Tuesday the government's decision to extend military offensive in troubled Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, arguing that the five-month operation had served as a proof that security approach could not resolve the Aceh question.

Jerry Norton, Banda Aceh – It looks like its going to be a long haul for Indonesian security forces fighting separatist rebels in Aceh.

The government is expected to announce on Thursday an extension of martial law in the province, and security officials in the provincial capital of 400,000 are careful to avoid predicting when it and the military campaign will end.

A high-level Acehnese separatist rebel who was reported killed by the Indonesian military last month has made a public appearance and thanked the army for saving his life.

The military reported last month that Dailami, 32, and his wife were shot dead during an exchange of fire with troops.

Jakarta - Although the initial suit was rejected by the panel of judges, the case against Presidential Decree Number 28/2003 on the declaration of a dangerous situation at the level of a military emergency in Aceh will continue.

Lesley McCulloch, Kuala Lumpur – When her husband died in January, Faridah (not her real name) fled with her two-and- a-half-year-old son from the province of Aceh in Indonesia's northwest. The heart attack that killed her husband was, according to Faridah, brought on by the stress of being hounded by the Indonesian military.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – The Banda Aceh District Court sentenced on Tuesday three negotiators of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), including chief negotiator Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, and women activist Cut Nurasyikin, to prison terms of between 11 years and 15 years.

Banda Aceh – A court here on Tuesday handed a 13-year prison term to a negotiator for the separatist rebels of Aceh after convicting him of treason and planning acts of arson, murder and bombings.

Banda Aceh – A court here on Tuesday sentenced a female Aceh independence activist to 11 years imprisonment on charges of treason.

The Banda Aceh District Court said in its ruling Nur Asikin had been found guilty of committing an act of treason by her involvement in the struggle to separate Aceh from the unitary state of Republic of Indonesia.

Police have broken up a training session by Indonesia's official human rights commission in Aceh province, where the military is in its sixth month of a major offensive against separatist rebels.

Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Experts are calling for the revocation of martial law and the establishment of a transitional administration with full support from the central government in Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam in a bid to resolve the conflict there.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Experts have called on the government to lift martial law imposed on Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam since May 19 and back instead a clean, civilian government to lead the Acehnese to the 2004 general elections.

Banda Aceh – Government troops killed or captured up to 2,000 separatist rebels in the troubled province of Aceh during the first five months of an offensive aimed at crushing the 27-year-long insurgency, a military official said Monday.

Tiarma Siboro, Banda Aceh – Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Friday the Aceh operation would not be halted during the fasting month of Ramadhan, as had been demanded by rights activists.