Louise Williams, Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces were scrambling to contain a backlash over the torture and beating deaths of five men in military custody last week, as details emerged today of the lynching by civilians of another soldier in the troubled northern province of Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesian police admitted Monday they "acted too hastily" in opening fire on a group in the troubled province of Aceh, leaving at least four people injured.

Jakarta – A man who was tortured by soldiers while under detention in the troubled Indonesian province of Aceh has died in hospital, bringing the death toll from the incident to five, a hospital employee said Monday.

Jakarta – An Indonesian army major being court martialed for the torture of Aceh villagers during which four died faces four years in jail and dismissal from the army, the military police said Sunday.

The security forces have yet again behaved brutally towards Acehnese people. The incident occured at around 1.30am on Sunday 17 January in front of the police station in Blang Jereun, Lhkosukon, North Aceh, when members of the police force opened fire on a group of people who were taking a casualty of a traffic accident to hospital.

Jakarta – A 40-strong delegation of representatives from the Indonesian province of Aceh Friday called on President B.J. Habibie to swiftly punish human rights violators in the troubled province.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military has released most of the scores of villagers detained in a sweep of separatist targets in troubled Aceh province, a rights official said Thursday.

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Indonesian troops opened fire to disperse a mob near a separatist's home in the troubled province of Aceh whom they claim masterminded weekend violence in which nine people died, witnesses and the military said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Nearly 50 inmates escaped from a prison in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh, the state Antara news agency reported Monday.

The 47 inmates pushed through the main gate of the Jantho prison in Aceh Besar district Sunday as guards escorted out two visitors. Five guards were threatened by some of the inmates, who were armed with knives.

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 – A crowd of people were holding three military men hostage in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province Thursday, two days after an ambush there left at least five off-duty soliders dead, reports and sources said Thursday.

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.