Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The Indonesian army is training and equipping Javanese migrants in Aceh to defend themselves against independence rebels in the province, non-governmental groups say.

An activist from a rural-development organisation said: "The military has been recruiting people so they can defend themselves." But he said the civilian militia force was made up of just 40 migrants. He added that its members were armed with weapons such as sickles and knives, not military weapons as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) says.

A military commander in Central Aceh admitted the local migrant population had been armed, but denied that the military was trying to stir up ethnic conflict in central Aceh. Lt-Colonel Rochana said the pro-government militia was a long-established village defence force, which was not organised by the military.

Non-governmental groups say the military may be exploiting recent ethnic tensions arising between the Javanese and local people, in the hope that increased violence would justify tougher military crackdowns.

In the last month, violence in Central Aceh, which was once relatively peaceful, has increased dramatically. More than 100 people have been killed while 12,000 have fled for North Aceh. Both Javanese and Acehnese blame each other for the violence.

GAM rebels have made no secret of their dislike of Javanese migrants. In the past, local commanders have admitted that they had asked Javanese migrants to leave the region, threatening them with death if they refused.

Migrants in Takengon, the capital of Central Aceh, said they were under attack from GAM and had joined the militia to defend their farms, according to the weekly magazine, Tempo. "If you were attacked, are you going to keep silent? We are peaceful farmers. Why are we being killed and our houses burned?" asked a Javanese migrant.