Banda Aceh – Security forces in the strife-torn province of Aceh broke ranks Thursday, fighting between police and members of the military claimed the lives of at least three police officers, witnesses said. The deaths put into further jeopardy the Indonesian province's impending cease-fire.

In one incident, a policeman and a soldier were killed when fighting broke out between policemen and a group of soldiers in Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh.

The shooting occurred when a group of policemen arrived at local military headquarters to demand the return of a police motorcycle, journalists reporting the incident said. Officials from the military and police couldn't be reached for comment.

In another incident in North Aceh, a police sergeant kidnapped by gunmen earlier this week was found dead on Wednesday, said local police chief Lt. Col. Syafei Aksal.

Also Wednesday, in anti-rebel operations, three armed separatists were shot dead when police swept through several villages in West Aceh, military spokesman Lt. Col. Widagdo said. He added that another civilian was found dead in Aceh Besar, a town in the northern part of the region.

But according to Free Aceh Movement spokesman Teungku Ismail, all those killed were ordinary, unarmed villagers. "They were shot after being asked by police if they knew where to find one of our members," Ismail said in a telephone interview.

The renewed fighting bodes ill for the truce which is due to come into effect June 2. The latest shootings bring to 22 the number of people killed in Aceh since the cease-fire agreement was signed on May 12 in Geneva.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the fighting in Aceh during the past decade, including about 400 deaths so far this year.