Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province said on Friday they were still open to peace talks with Jakarta despite the shooting of its top military chiefs by security forces earlier this week.

Tengku Sofyan Dawod, a spokesman for the pro-independence Free Aceh Movement (GAM), said the death of Tengku Abdullah Syafei would not weaken the group which has been waging a guerrilla war against Jakarta's rule for decades.

"The possibility of dialogue is still open and always exists ... but the reality on the field is that more war is looming," Dawod told Reuters by telephone from the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. "There is a deep feeling of sadness among our soldiers, but we are not weakened ... we are proud to know that our top commander has been killed by the enemy," he added.

Aceh is just one of several flash points in Indonesia, plagued in recent years by violence sparked by issues ranging from separatism to communal and religious differences.

Officials said Syafei was shot in the chest in a gun battle on Tuesday in an incident analysts have said could thwart already stumbling peace efforts. Syafei's death comes only months after Papua independence hero Theys Eluay was found dead in his overturned car after visiting an army base.

Dawod said Syafei's death could trigger more bloodshed in the staunchly Muslim province, already racked by decades of violence which has killed thousands of people, mainly civilians. "But we are not embarking on a kind of revenge mission – that is not in our blood," Dawod said.

Several ceasefire agreements between Jakarta and Aceh have largely been ignored by both sides. GAM wants nothing less than full independence but Jakarta has ruled this out, as it battles several flash points

Earlier this month Jakarta stepped up pressure on the rebels, saying it planned to revive a military command in the resource-rich province. President Megawati Sukarnoputri, a staunch nationalist, has taken personal responsibility for resolving the conflict but activists say the re-establishment of the military command would simply make things worse.