The Indonesian military says it has killed four separatist rebels in troubled Aceh province.

Soldiers gunned down two Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels during a gunfight at Peusangan in Bireun district on Saturday, said provincial military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin. Two other guerillas managed to escape.

Jacqueline Koch – Jakarta has again raised the stakes for the resource-rich and restive province of Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, where Indonesia faces an entrenched independence movement.

Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Acehnese expressed disbelief on Friday over the government's insistence on imposing a state of emergency in the restive province, stressing that all social layers in Aceh had expressed their rejection to any state of emergency.

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, Banda Aceh – Thousands of refugees in Aceh will completely lose access to aid and food supplies due to blocked lines of transportation if, as expected, a civilian emergency is imposed in this restive province.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government is still pursuing its plan to impose a state of emergency in the restive province of Aceh, ignoring strong opposition from the provincial administration, councillors and students as well as non-governmental organizations there.

Jakarta – Most Indonesians and parliament would back the government if it imposed civil emergency status on the rebellious Aceh region, Indonesia's top security minister said on Thursday.

The Indonesian military said it has killed 12 separatist rebels in troubled Aceh province.

Soldiers killed eight Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members in a 30-minute encounter at Alam Jeumpa in West Aceh district on Wednesday, said provincial military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin.

Rachel Clarke – Indonesia's leaders are trying to work out what to do next with strife-torn Aceh.

More troops could be sent to the northern province, a civil emergency could be declared to give the authorities more powers or full military law could be imposed.

Seven young women belonging to a pro-democracy group in rebellious Aceh province have been arrested for insulting President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz.

Bangkok – The Aceh separatists' regional connection was bared after police in Thailand seized a major arms cache, including 68 AK-47 rifles, bound for the rebels in Indonesia's troubled northern province.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Despite public opposition to a state of emergency in Aceh, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked the President to deploy 8,000 more troops to the restive province.

Lesley McCulloch – The pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Aceh has been viewed with skepticism by many for some time. But now confirmation of the Indonesian government's lack of commitment to the peace process seems imminent.

Nani Farida and Muhammad Nafik, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – As most Acehnese have rejected the government's proposal that a state of civil emergency be imposed on the restive province, there is no option left for the government except to forge ahead with dialog, activists and legislators said on Sunday.

Jakarta – Over 60 per cent of Indonesians back the imposition of a civil emergency in the restive Aceh province, according to a nationwide survey.

Jane Perlez, Lhokseumawe – The silvery pipes that extract hundreds of millions of dollars in natural gas a year for Exxon Mobil glint in the tropical sun here, a glittering contrast to the ramshackle huts and rice fields of the villagers nearby.

Atika Shubertm Jakarta – In another sign of Indonesia's crackdown in the restive province of Aceh, Chief Security Minister Bambang Yudhoyono will investigate suggestions the region's peace talks negotiator is not impartial.

The Indonesian Government is at a crossroads in its long running war with separatist rebels in its rebellious province of Aceh ... a conflict which has been dogging Jakarta for almost 30 years. Jakarta is considering whether it should continue floundering peace talks abroad with GAM, Aceh's separatist rebel group or whether it should cancel the talks and impose martial law.

Jakarta – Aceh councillors warned the central government on Wednesday against imposing either a civil emergency or martial law in the province, arguing that the move would only worsen the security situation there.

In a meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, they also urged Jakarta to fulfill its previous promises.

John Aglionby – The Indonesian government currently finds itself at a major crossroads over its policy towards Aceh, the province on the northern tip of Sumatra where separatists have been waging an armed struggle for independence since 1976, driven on by decades of broken promises of greater autonomy from successive regimes in Jakarta.

Jakarta – A baby was shot and killed and its mother left fighting for her life in violence which claimed at least 10 lives in the war-ravaged Indonesian province of Aceh on Sunday and Monday, sources said.

The dead also include a soldier, two alleged Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists and a 79-year-old man and his son.

Vice President Hamzah Haz has pointed a finger of blame at disgruntled generals who, he implied, have been destabilizing the restive province of Aceh by penetrating the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Amid the controversy concerning the government's plan to impose martial law in response to the continuing violence in Aceh, Haz has questioned who is the mastermind behind GAM.

Jakarta – Indonesia's chief security minister, on a fact-finding mission to Aceh province, said the government wanted to end a separatist war there peacefully but at the same time he issued a tough warning to the rebels.

Tom McCawley, Jakarta – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia's chief security minister, arrived in the troubled Aceh province on Tuesday as Jakarta considered declaring a civil emergency to end a 26-year war with separatists.

Banda Aceh – At least two civilians and two suspected guerillas were killed in the latest violence to hit Aceh, residents and the military said yesterday.

But in Jakarta, the authorities and parliament have not yet reached the conclusion that a state of emergency is needed in Aceh.

Jakarta – As the government continued to secure more support for its plan to intensify military operations in Aceh, experts warned that an increased military presence in Aceh would not solve problems but would only create state-sanctioned violence against innocent civilians there.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights has launched an investigation into last year's massacre of 31 residents in Langsa, Aceh, Antara reported on Saturday.

B.N. Marbun, a member of the commission, said the team arrived in Langsa on Thursday and will return to Jakarta on Monday.

Aceh separatist rebels slammed a statement by an Indonesian minister branding them terrorists as an "irresponsible and desperate" attempt to discredit the movement.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Nationalist politicians back a proposed civil emergency and a likely tougher military action in conflict-ridden Aceh, but legislators from the province oppose such an approach as a means to wipe out separatist rebels.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The hard line taken by the government will dash any hope for a peaceful solution to end the decades-long strife in Aceh, official and activists alike said.

Banda Aceh – Apparently niggled by the continuing violence in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province, the government sent a strong signal on Thursday that the military operation in the restive province could be intensified.

Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province have released 18 civilians they abducted late last month, a source involved in arranging the release said.

"They were released yesterday afternoon," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP Friday, adding they are in good condition.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – A bloody battle between security forces and rebels in Aceh looks imminent as the Indonesian government yesterday announced plans to declare a state of emergency to crack down on "terrorists" in the strife-torn province.

Muklis Ali, Jakarta – Indonesia's government on Thursday branded the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) a terrorist group for the first time, and hinted it may impose a civil emergency in the province of Aceh as violence there was getting out of hand.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday instructed Iskandar Muda military Commander Maj. Gen. Djali Yusuf to sternly punish the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM). She also blamed GAM for disturbing the public order.

Jakarta – Five armed people, allegedly members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), were killed when security officers launched an attack in Bayeuen district, East Aceh, some 460 kilometers away from Banda Aceh, a report said on Wednesday.

Richard Norton-Taylor and John Aglionby, Jakarta – The Foreign Office was urgently investigating reports last night that British Hawk jets had been deployed by the Indonesian airforce in Aceh, against dissidents on a group of islands north-west of Sumatra who are engaged in a brutal struggle for self-rule.

Indonesia's military said it was mobilising all available troops in a hunt for Aceh separatist rebels blamed for the abduction of nine crewmen servicing the offshore oil industry.

The army also Tuesday accused the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) of demolishing two electricity pylons in the province, causing blackouts in several areas.

Jakarta – The government will evaluate the viability of the current security policy in Aceh before issuing a presidential decree to change the current status of civilian order in the troubled province, a top official said on Monday.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – Activists on Thursday cast doubts over the upcoming Aceh peace talks, as violence continued unabated with neither the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) nor the government willing to back down from preconditions to move into a dialog.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Some 1,000 Acehnese refugees staged a protest in front of the North Smatra provincial legislature on Thursday, asking the government to keep its promise to provide them with financial assistance.

Jakarta – After participating in the Aceh provincial sports week in Sigli, nine athletes and officials from the Aceh Singkil regency were reportedly abducted by a group of unidentified armed men in Peureulak, East Aceh regency, Antara reported on Thursday.

Jakarta – In a further move to implement syariah, or Islamic law, in Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Police will soon recruit officers for its special religious police unit, YAntara news agency reported.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) has received crucial backing from legislators to use force against separatists in Aceh as a military offensive grew imminent in the troubled province.

Zacharias Wuragil, Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has claimed that the security situation in Aceh has improved. However, he still considers the Free Aceh Movement Force (AGAM) as the most important party that determines security in Aceh.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Members of the House of Representatives (DPR) unanimously threw their support behind the Indonesian military on Monday in allowing it to flex its muscles against secessionist movements in the country, particularly the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – Acehnese human rights activists questioned on Monday the effectiveness of Presidential Instruction No. 1/2002 on the Comprehensive Solution to Aceh's Problems to settle the conflict in the province as its six-month deadline nears, while violence remains unabated.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – The reestablishment of the Iskandar Muda military command in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province has failed to bring about peace in the restive region.

Aceh human rights campaigner Maimul Fidar said the existence of the military command had instead limited the space for civilian activities in the province.

Jakarta – Ten armed men shot dead five employees of a state-owned plantation in Aceh and kidnapped eight others on Saturday, the military said on Sunday.

All of the victims were employees of state-owned plantation PT Perkebunan Nusantara I in Langsa district, East Aceh.

Ibnu Matnoor and Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – Six members of the Indonesian Air Force's special forces (Paskhas) were killed in an ambush by members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) near Iskandar Muda Airport in Blangbintang, Aceh Besar regency, on Wednesday night, an officer said on Thursday.

A soldier, four suspected separatist rebels and a village chief have been killed in the latest violence in Indonesia's Aceh province, the military and police said.

An army sergeant and a rebel were killed in a gunfight at Hagu Bara Laut near Lhokseumawe in North Aceh on Wednesday, said Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin.