Banda Aceh – Indonesian troops shot dead three more separatist rebels in Aceh as representatives from both sides entered a third-day of talks here, the military said Wednesday.

The violence occurred as delegates from the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were meeting in Banda Aceh, capital of the resource-rich province. The closed-door meeting was held in a hotel and attended by six GAM members and four government representatives, a source close to the talks told AFP here.

All 10 were members of joint committees which Jakarta unilaterally disbanded or froze last month. Also present at the meeting were three members of a security monitoring committee and three representatives of the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre, which has facilitated peace talks between the two sides since last year.

"Issues that are being discussed also mention about the safety of the former members of the Joint Committee on Security Modalities after that committee was frozen by the government," the source said on condition of anonymity.

Among the latest casualties in the conflict was Yusuf Kontrek, a deputy GAM commander in Tamiang area in East Aceh, military operational spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Firdaus told AFP. Kontrek was shot dead during a raid at his house in Manyak Payed subdistrict on Tuesday, Firdaus said.

He said another GAM leader in East Aceh, Wandi bin Jamin, was gunned down by military troops on Tuesday after he had come out of his camp in Pante Rambong village in Lhoknibong area.

Meanwhile the GAM spokesman in Peureulak area, Ishak Daud, claimed Wednesday that the rebel group had shot dead six soldiers in an armed skirmish in Idi Rayeuk area of East Aceh on Tuesday. But Firdaus denied the claim, saying: "should there have been even one victim, I would have announced it."

The third GAM member, 25-year-old Ahmal Zuri, was shot dead in Blang Bintang area of Aceh Besar district on Tuesday after he tried to drive his car into several soldiers who were crossing a street in the area, said military spokesman Major Edi Sulistiadie. Zuri's death was confirmed by the local GAM spokesman, Ayah Sofyan.

GAM has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in the oil and gas-rich province since the mid-1970s. In April, after the failure of efforts to negotiate a settlement based on giving the province greater autonomy, Jakarta deployed troop reinforcements and launched an operation to rid the province of the rebels. More than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the province since the start of the year.