David Lamb, Banda Aceh – Emboldened by East Timor's breakaway, the people of Aceh have embarked on a dangerous journey that could determine the fate of Indonesia itself. It is a passage, born of the collective memory of military abuses and broken promises, that is leading this bloodied province to one of three extremes: war, autonomy or independence.

Jakarta – Indonesian security forces killed a suspected separatist rebel and wounded another in the latest armed skirmish in Aceh province, a local newspaper reported on Friday.

The exchange of gunfire between rebels and security forces lasted for 30 minutes on Thursday in the Matangkuli area of North Aceh, the Banda Aceh-based Serambi daily said.

Jakarta – Indonesian police are to go on the offensive against separatist rebels in the troubled province of Aceh following an increase in attacks on security forces in the province.

"We will not yield to armed civilians in Aceh. They will be dealt with sternly," national police chief General Rusmanhadi told the Media Indonesia daily.

Jakarta – Indonesian police and soldiers set fire to dozens of houses and shops on Friday in the troubled Aceh province to avenge the killing of a soldier, a report said.

A soldier was found dead in the Lammeu area of Pidie district on Friday morning, prompting security authorities to send troops to the area to search for the assailants, the Detik online news service said.

Reuters in Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament on Thursday backed away from the idea of allowing any referendum for the troubled province of Aceh.

Separatists are demanding a referendum on independence for the Sumatran region and a special parliamentary committee earlier recommended holding a vote of some kind in the province.

Associated Press, Banda Aceh – Violence again marred the fasting month of Ramadhan in Aceh as three students and four police personnel were severely injured in separate incidents in Jeumpa Aceh regency over the weekend.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military Friday warned they were ready to crush separatists in the troubled province of Aceh if ordered to, following the gunning down of a soldier and kidnapping of two officers in the strife-torn territory.

Jakarta – Military police chief Maj. Gen. Djasri Marin said here on Wednesday that 11 military personnel and two civilians had been declared suspects in the killing of at least 65 people, including Islamic boarding school teacher Tengku Bantaqiah, in the troubled province of Aceh in July.

Jakarta – Leaked military documents obtained by Indonesia's leading independent human rights group Wednesday showed civil rights abuses over the past nine years in Aceh province were carried out on the instructions of the army in Jakarta.

Tim Dodd, Banda Aceh – The two men and two women who were paraded through Aceh's capital of Banda Aceh wore signs saying "I stole and I deserve punishment" and "I deeply repent".

Tim Dodd, Banda Aceh – Only months after Indonesia's ignominious exit from East Timor, the die is already cast in Aceh, the next rebellious province to demand independence from the Jakarta central Government.

Jakarta – Indonesia has captured provocateurs, some of them formerly with the military, who were trying to stir up trouble in rebellious Aceh province, senior minister and former armed forces chief General Wiranto said on Monday.

Marianne Kearney, Banda Aceh – Wiry, 45-year-old Ainsyah Basyah is not the most typical victim of the Indonesian military's nine-year campaign to wipe out the Free Aceh separatist movement, which marked its 23rd anniversary on December 4.

Derwin Pereira, Pidie – Indonesia's generals are once again losing sleep over the country's westernmost province. Their concern: that Aceh is headed for East Timor-style separatism.

The signs are ominous. Up to a million people took to the streets in the capital Banda Aceh last month to call for a referendum on independence.

Pandrah Kandeh, Indonesia – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province held peaceful flag-raising ceremonies Saturday in their jungle bases to mark their 23rd anniverary, which was marred only by an incident which left seven injured.

Jakarta – Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Spokesman Major General Sudrajat has confirmed former vice president Try Sutrisno's controversial statement that Aceh province was never classified as a Military Operation Zone (DOM).

Calls for independence for Aceh are growing by the day, raising fears of a dismemberment of the republic. Part I of a two-part special report looks at forces propelling the demands for self-rule in the province

The horror stays locked in Ms Norlailah's mind. Her eyes are dark-ringed holes in a pinched and exhausted face, bearing years of pain and hate against Indonesia.

John Aglionby, Takengon – The last thing Suprianto heard before he passed out was his wife shrieking as she burned to death, locked inside their home by five masked gunmen. "It was horrible, her screams will live with me for ever," said the coffee farmer from Takengon. Mr Suprianto could do nothing to help; the attackers had sprayed bullets into his feet.

Agencies in Jakarta and Banda Aceh – Troops in Aceh will shoot on sight anyone found lowering the national flag tomorrow, the 23rd anniversary of the region's separatist movement, the province's military chief was quoted as saying yesterday.

Banda Aceh – A leading rights activist warned Friday that including the option of independence in any referendum on the future of the volatile province of Aceh was non-negotiable.

Amy Chew, Banda Aceh – The group which mobilised last month's huge pro-independence rally in the restive province of Aceh warned it would hold a referendum on ending Indonesian rule if Jakarta refuses one of its own.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Activists in Aceh have called off anti-Jakarta protests planned for Saturday because they fear Indonesia's armed forces will use flag-raising rallies as an excuse for a brutal crackdown.

Astrid Amalia, Jakarta – A top army official in Indonesia's troubled Aceh said on Wednesday that separatists were in control of the province amid intense pressure from the military for martial law.

"The situation in Aceh now is not safe as the rebels have already taken control of Aceh," Colonel Syafnil Armen told Reuters by telephone.

Jakarta – Military and civilian leaders, several allegedly behind large-scale human rights abuses in Aceh over the past decade, have defended their policies before parliamentary deputies, saying that tough measures were needed to maintain law and order.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. Wiranto and top military officials were questioned over allegations of human rights abuses in the restive province of Aceh during an investigation by a special House of Representatives committee on Thursday.

Jakarta – One hundred and fifty students from the University of Indonesia rallied at the House of Representatives on Wednesday to demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri resign if they fail to resolve the dispute in Aceh within three months.

Jakarta – About 2,500 Acehnese Thursday forced their way into the parliament complex here to demand a referendum on self-determination in their province.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military threatened Thursday to take action against rebels in the restive province of Aceh if they lower the national flag on the December 4 separatist anniversary there, a report said.

Banda Aceh – Two [student] members of SIRA (Aceh Referendum Information Centre) were seriously wounded early on Thursday morning (24th November) [as received] after being caught in a hail of bullets and having a hand grenade thrown at them by men in military style fatigues riding a trail bike in the vicinity of Geuceu Meunara village, Banda Aceh.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – The Indonesian President, Mr Addurrahman Wahid, has ruled out a referendum on independence for Aceh, raising fears of more violence in the resource-rich province at the tip of the island of Sumatra.

Jakarta – A catalogue of killings, torture and rape in the Indonesian province of Aceh was outlined to parliament Wednesday as an independent inquiry said it had found 5,000 cases of rights abuses.

Vaudine England (Jakarta) and Associated Press (Banda Aceh) – As President Abdurrahman Wahid left yesterday on another foreign trip – this time to Kuwait – Acehnese activists and investigators in Jakarta were increasingly impatient at his "inaction".

Jakarta – A barrage of criticism was raised on Thursday in response to the Indonesian Military and National Police's proposal to impose limited martial law in Aceh, warning such a move could lead to further human rights violations.

Jeremy Wagstaff, Lhokseumawe – Hundreds of Indonesian migrants to Aceh have fled the province in recent days because of a terror campaign apparently conducted by the armed Free Aceh Movement.

Jakarta – Scores of Indonesian students picketed the defense ministry Thursday to demand the prosecution of top officials they accuse of human rights abuses in the restive province of Aceh.

Thomas Fuller – Calls for a referendum on independence are growing louder in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh, where a demonstration last week drew hundreds of thousands of people.

Amy Chew of Reuters in Jakarta – The odds on Indonesia holding on to Aceh are no better than even, and a political solution must be found to stop separatist pressure breaking the country apart, the Regional Autonomy Minister said.

Ryaas Rasyid said separatists had been mounting an effective campaign for a referendum on independence.

Banda Aceh – Up to a million people rallied here Monday to demand a referendum for self-determination in Indonesia's volatile province of Aceh and show they had popular backing.

Jakarta – Demands for an East Timor-style referendum on self-determination are on the rise in the staunchly Muslim Indonesian province of Aceh after decades of violence involving soldiers, civilians and armed separatist rebels. Here are some facts about the province:

Population: 5,114,850.

Agencies in Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Suryadi Sudirja indicated yesterday the troubled province of Aceh was unlikely to get a referendum soon to decide its political status.

Special autonomy within the "unitary state of Indonesia" was a better solution to Aceh's problems than "separation from the family", Mr Suryadi said.

Jakarta – Indonesia's leading newspapers on Friday urged Jakarta to find a peaceful settlement to separatist unrest in Aceh, a day after President Abdurrahman Wahid said he was open to a ballot on independence in the rebellious province.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Thursday the people of the volatile province of Aceh had the right to an East Timor style referendum, but that his government would not be pushed into a vote.

Associated Press, Sigli – More than 50,000 people rallied in Aceh on Thursday in a massive demonstration of pro-independence fervour, two days after troops opened fire on rock-throwing protesters in Indonesia's troubled province.

Associated Press in Jakarta – A day after President Abdurrahman Wahid said it was not yet time to discuss an independence referendum, thousands of people protested violently in strife-torn Aceh province on Tuesday to demand an immediate vote.

Jakarta – Indonesian troops shot dead more than 50 unarmed civilians in Aceh province in July, according to a local government probe rejecting allegations the victims were separatist rebels, reports said Sunday.

Jakarta – Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the separatist-plagued Indonesian province of Aceh to demand an East Timor-style referendum on independence, a report said Friday.

Lhokseumawe – Several thousand people in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh on Saturday staged a protest demanding President Abdurrahman Wahid allow a referendum on its future status, police said.

The protest took place in East Aceh district, one of the areas where support for the separatist Free Aceh rebels is strongest. Police said the protest was generally peaceful.

Pravit Rojanaphruk – Suharto may be gone but respect for human rights and freedom of speech is still a long way off in the country he ruled with an iron fist for 32 years. A shameful chapter in history near its end as East Timor inches toward independence.

Jakarta – Thirty MPs from Indonesia's Aceh province Wednesday urged the nation's highest legislative body to give the troubled region a broad-based autonomy along the lines proposed for East Timor.

Jakarta – Gunmen shot dead two policemen in the troubled Indonesian province of Aceh on Tuesday while another was killed the previous day, reports said.