Jakarta – The Indonesian military Monday formally denied persistent rumours an army battalion had deserted its base on the outskirts of Jakarta and accused an outlawed leftist group of trying to stir up trouble.

He told the state Antara new agency that the outlawed People's Democratic Party was suspected to be behind the rumours. The party was earlier accused by the military of involvement in a Jakarta bomb plot.

Nachrowi, Jakarta military spokesman, insisted the rumour of hundreds of infanty troops deserting their post in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, was groundless.

The rumours, along with scores of others about planned or actual riots, bomb plots and other incidents of unrest, have been swirling through Jakarta for weeks.