Jakarta – Indonesian armed forces will return to the troubled province of Aceh to restore security after two days of mob riots following a troop withdrawal, army chief General Wiranto said Wednesday. "Because it is ABRI's (the armed forces) responsibility to maintain security in the whole Indonesian territory, ABRI will return and take over security in that (Aceh) area," Wiranto said, after meeting Indonesian President B.J. Habibie.

Tensions were high amid tight security in the town of Lhokseumawe, the scene of two days of rioting. Unrest broke in the North Aceh town shortly after the last batch of outside troops withdrew from the province on Monday. Onlookers hurled stones and insults at the 659 departing troops. The rioting, including looting and arson, carried on into Tuesday when two people died and at least 10 were injured.

Although it started by targetting ethnic Chinese businesses, the rampage later became indiscriminate. Wiranto added the withdrawal of the troops would be "suspended" but he did not elaborate.

The military have said that Monday's pullout was the second and last after an earlier one on August 20 which saw the departure of 250 soldiers. The troops left Lhokseumawe in line with Jakarta's promise to scale down its military presence in the province where soldiers have been accused of massive human rights abuses during a decade-long anti-rebel operation.

"To safeguard projects of vital importance, the number of troops (in Aceh) will be reinforced," Wiranto said without elaborating. Lhokseumawe lies near the huge Arun oil and gas field. "Security personnel are everywhere but we have not received any report of fresh unrest today," said Icut, an employee of the Iskandar Muda Legal Aid Institute in Lhokseumawe, the main town of North Aceh district. "Everything appears calm but you can feel the tension."

The road leading to the center of Lhokseumawe was heavily guarded, a resident housewife who identified herself as Meutia, 27, said. "The situation is calm and under control today," said an officer at the Lilawangsa military command in Lhokseumawe which oversees security in several Aceh district, including North Aceh. He declined to be identified or elaborate.

The head of the Lilawangsa command, Colonel Dasiri Musnar was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying four companies of soldiers from the provincial capital and the neighbouring province of North Sumatra had been dispatched to Lhokseumawe. An Indonesian company consists of about 100 men. "They will remain here until the situation returns to normal like before," Musnar said.

Lieutenant Colonel Saleh of the information centre at the national police headquarters in Jakarta said about 1,000 men were responsible for security in Lhokseumawe. Most people were staying home Wednesday and schools would remain closed for the rest of the week after looting and damage to property continued until late Tuesday, Meutia said. "I don't dare go out of the house with all the looting and vandalism that is going on ...some people are just taking advantage of the situation as it has gone out of control," she said.

Local residents also noted an increase in air traffic, including a jet belonging to the Mobile Oil company which has a huge oil and gas operation in the nearby Arun field. "The Mobile Oil plane has flown at least twice this morning when it usually flies no more than twice a day," Meutia said.

On Tuesday, the unrest also spread to four other sub-districts in North Aceh, police have said. In two of the four districts – Samudra and Peusangan – police spoke of mobs of thousands, mostly school children and youths, ransacking shops there. One of the dead came from Geudon, the main town of the Samudra sub-district, a human rights activist from the Iskandar Muda legal aid institute has said.

[On September 4 Dow Jones Newswires reported that according to the independent Commission for Missing Persons and Victims, the military may have masterminded the riots to ensure that troops would be returned."In our view, the riots were engineered by groups that so far have benefited from the existence of the military operation," said Munir, chief of the commission - James Balowski.]