Banda Aceh, Aceh – Some 507 school buildings have been set on fire in 10 districts in Aceh since the Indonesian government launched a military offensive in the restive province on May 19, leaving 70,000 students with no place to study.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The central government and the martial law administration in Aceh will expand the scope of a proposed screening program to local elected representatives and village heads in the war-torn province.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – An American freelance journalist who has spent five weeks with Acehnese separatist rebels says the fighting and casualties are much more extensive than reported and the rebels retain overwhelming support among villagers.

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – Over 10,000 Acehnese people staying in a refugee camp in Bireuen regency are facing a shortage of clean water as the military offensive enters its fifth week.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Resolving the conflict in Aceh through war will only increase the number of civilian casualties.

For this reason, around 200 students from the Peace Committee for Humanity (Komite Perdamian untuk Kemanusiaan, KPK) held a demonstration calling for the war between the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to be stopped.

The government's announcement that Acehnese working for the administration must undergo special screenings is the latest in a series of measures, introduced since the imposition of martial law, that will only further alienate the people of Aceh.

Lhokseumawe – At least 10,000 people fled their homes in nine villages across Juli district in Bireuen regency on Friday to escape intense firefights between government troops and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Bernie K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – A convoy of five marine trucks, two armored personnel carriers and a tank rumbled into Pulo Ara village, a group of wooden houses on a sandy beach and nestled among banana and palm trees.

Greg Sheridan – Indonesia has no plans to ban foreign journalists from the troubled province of Aceh, according to Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hasan Wirayudah. But it will tighten the regulation over who goes there and make the province, on the northern tip of Sumatra, off limits to foreign tourists.

Lhokseumawe – People in Bireuen regency flocked to their respective district offices on Wednesday and Thursday to apply for new ID cards, in one of the first places in war-torn Aceh where the martial law administration is attempting to separate separatist rebels from civilians.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – Two members of the Aceh regional parliament (DPRD) are reported to be involved with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and are being investigated by police. Vice-president Hamzah Haz who is also the chairperson of the United Development Party (PPP) has invited security personnel to investigate those members of his party who are involved with GAM.

Indonesian troops fired artillery and moved hundreds of villagers from their homes during an attack on a suspected separatist rebel base, a local resident said.

The resident heard 38 rounds fired throughout the morning towards a hilly area in Juli sub-district just south of Bireuen town. The private RCTI television station also showed pictures of artillery being fired.

Lhokseumawe – The military's biggest setback during three weeks of the offensive to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has prompted Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu to seek a quick end to the war, but added his troops were ready to fight the rebels for as long as it took.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government is planning new regulations to restrict foreign access to the war-torn Aceh province, as evidence emerges that the Indonesian army has trained militia groups to help its military offensive against the separatist movement GAM.

Banda Aceh – All of Aceh's 67,000 civil servants will be re-registered and asked to attend roll-calls to affirm their loyalty to the country, a regional administration spokesman said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military said Thursday it will check reports from the country's national human rights commission that a mass grave has been discovered in Aceh province.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) told AFP Wednesday that its representatives in Aceh had received information about a grave believed to contain dozens of bodies.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for People' Welfare Jusuf Kalla insisted on Wednesday that the martial law administrator in Aceh would issue a new measure soon, to bar all foreigners from entering the province.

Frida Berrigan – Far from the spotlight and far from Baghdad, another shock and awe campaign is underway. On May 19th, Indonesia launched a military campaign to "strike and paralyze" a small band of separatist rebels in the Aceh province.

Indonesian troops and separatist rebels have fought their fiercest battle since a campaign was launched last month to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the military said.

Berni K. Moestafa, Lhokseumawe – Just hours after claiming to have made significant progress in its operation to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the Indonesian Military (TNI) lost seven soldiers during a clash in Matang Kumbang, Bireun regency, Aceh, on Monday.

Jakarta – The Aceh provincial administration's plan to screen 67,000 civil servants and "severely punish" those found to support the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has sparked criticism.

Khairul Ikhwan, Medan – There are indications that a number of civil servants in the Aceh provincial government are involved in the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), although none have so far been proven to be so. Aceh governor, Abdullah Puteh has said that the government is in the process of carrying out a more thorough investigation.

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – The government will soon conduct a special investigations (Litsus) of state civil servants in Aceh. This follows information which suggests Acehnese civil servants are involved in the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

James Balowski, Jakarta – Although coverage of Indonesia's brutal war in its northern-most province of Aceh has all but disappeared from the international media, it is still front-page news here.

James Balowski – At around 9pm on June 4, two German tourists camping out near Lueng Gayo beach in the sub-district of Teunom in West Aceh were fired on by Indonesian troops (TNI). Lothar Heinrich Albert (54) died from a bullet wound to the chest and his wife, Elisabeth Engel (50), was shot in the knee. She is now being treated at the regional military command hospital.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's Red Cross said on Wednesday it had taken 151 bodies to hospitals and morgues in Aceh since a fresh military offensive against rebels began, adding all victims had been wearing civilian clothes.

Matthew Moore and Agencies – As Indonesia's renewed war in Aceh province enters its fourth week, the army has unveiled plans to build an island prison to hold 1000 suspected members and supporters of the separatist group, GAM. The move came as President Megawati Sukarnoputri reiterated that she and her government would not tolerate separatism.

Indonesia's military operation to crush the Free Aceh separatists continues to gather momentum as the war enters its fourth week. The military, the TNI claims it has killed some 160 rebels and taken more than 300 prisoners, with many surrendering.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – A German tourist shot by Indonesian soldiers in Aceh province said she did not hear any calls from soldiers before they fired warning shots and further shots that hit her and killed her husband.

Bernie K. Moestafa and Tiarma Siboro, Banda Aceh – The war in Aceh is taking its toll on village chiefs with 76 in Bireuen regency resigning on Sunday after complaining about the pressure they had to face in dealing with both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Andrew Marshall – Of all the hardware currently deployed in Aceh, US-supplied bombers, British-made jets, tanks, armored troop carriers, assault helicopters, warships" it was a slate-gray Japanese sedan that unnerved us journalists the most.

Jakarta – The government has declared war-torn Aceh off limits to tourists following the shooting of two German tourists last week.

Bernie K. Moestafa and Tiarma Siboro, Lhokseumawe – Frequent power blackouts have added to the suffering of the Acehnese as conflict and martial law, which will enter its fourth week, continued unabated.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The injured wife of a German tourist shot dead by Indonesian soldiers in war-torn Aceh province on Wednesday night wrote a letter the next day forgiving the military for the "misunderstanding".

Jakarta – The Indonesian Women's Solidarity Alliance (Aliansi Solidaritas Perempuan Indonesia, ASPI) has called on warring parties in Aceh to immediately end the war and return to the negotiating table. According to ASPI, the war will achieve nothing, rather it will result in civilian deaths and tear apart the rights of the Acehnese people.

Berni K. Moestafa and Tiarma Siboro, Lhokseumawe – Military prosecutors are seeking an eight-month sentence for three soldiers who allegedly assaulted civilians during a raid in Bireuen, Aceh regency, at the end of May.

Maire Leadbeater – A cartoon is circulating among human rights networks shows a finger-wagging Indonesian President Megawati exhorting one of her generals to "make sure you win their hearts and minds". The general, who holds a map of Aceh, reassures her: "Don't worry, we trained in East Timor."

Matthew Moore, Jakarta and agencies – Indonesian politicians and military commanders were last night struggling to contain damaging fallout after soldiers in Aceh attacked two German tourists on a cycling holiday, killing a man and shooting his wife in the leg.

Jakarta – Governor Sutiyoso told Muslim preachers on Tuesday not to use mosques as a forum to rally people against the military operation now taking place in Aceh province.

John Roberts – Despite attempts by the Indonesian government to block information on the military's activities, it is becoming clear that the offensive by the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) in the northern-most province of Aceh against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) involves a deliberate campaign of mass terror against the civilian population.

Pip Hinman, Sydney – Lesley McCulloch, who spent five months in an Acehnese prison last year, said the current level of repression against ordinary Acehnese by the Indonesian military and police is "extreme".

James Balowski, Jakarta – Amid mounting reports of civilian casualties and human rights violations by Indonesia's armed forces (TNI), the government is moving to suppress opposition to the so-called "restoration of security" operation in Aceh, Indonesia's northern-most province.

Jakarta – The martial law administrator in Aceh has decided to close off Aceh waters to foreign ships, but has failed to communicate the move to the public.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesia's military chiefs have accused seven soldiers of beating civilians in Aceh province, but say they have received no complaints and have no evidence of widely-reported killings of more than 20 unarmed villagers in the first week of a renewed offensive against pro-independence fighters.

Banda Aceh – Students and other activists who support separatist guerillas in Indonesia's Aceh province will face subversion charges that can carry the death penalty, police warned yesterday. The authorities said they have a list of activists who support or assist the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), as well as evidence against them.

Indonesia's attack on Aceh separatist rebels and the imposition of martial law in the province have brought new dangers for human rights activists, Amnesty International said.

More than 25,000 civilians are now living as refugees in Indonesia's Aceh province, where a major attack on separatist rebels continues, and the military said it may have forced some to quit their homes.

Police in Indonesia's Aceh province said they were hunting civilian activists suspected of supporting separatist rebels.

"We will use the [criminal code] article on subversion, which carries up to the death sentence, against them," said Sayed Husaini, police spokesman in the province where a major military assault on the rebels is in its third week.

Kevin McQuillan and agencies – Indonesian authorities in Aceh have rejected requests from about 10 overseas journalists to cover the war.

The Marshall law Administrator, Major General Endang Suwarya, says he does not need "foreign observers" in the province.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Monday it would investigate over 20 cases of alleged rights violations in Aceh during the first two weeks of military operations in the province.