The Indonesian military will send thousands more soldiers into Aceh to help tsunami relief efforts, bringing the total troop deployment there close to 50,000, a military spokesman said.

Major General Syafrie Syamsuddin said the fresh soldiers would focus solely on humanitarian operations, initially the cleaning up of debris in towns. Asked if the soldiers would be used in the military's battle against separatist rebels, Syamuddin said: "No, no, no, of course not."

He said 12 battalions, with troop numbers ranging from a few hundred up to 1,000, would be sent in over the coming months, without giving a timeframe. He said the extra soldiers would initally help "in the process of cleaning the towns and retrieving the bodies", and later move on to rehabilitation and reconstruction work. Syamsuddin said there were already about 40,000 soldiers in Aceh.

The military's presence has become the focus of international attention over recent days as Indonesian leaders have sought to portray the forces as essential in providing security to foreigners from rebel attacks.

The Free Aceh Movement has been fighting for independence since 1976 in a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives, but the insurgents have insisted they are no threat to the international humanitarian effort.

The government launched a massive offensive against the rebels in May 2003 and banned most foreigners from Aceh in a bid to avoid international scrutiny of its operations.

The government was forced to scale back its offensive and reopen Aceh to foreigners following the December 26 earthquake and tsunamis to allow one of the biggest international humanitarian efforts in history to take place.

More than 106,000 Indonesians died in the disaster, with almost all of the victims in Aceh.

The military called for a ceasefire with the rebels immediately after the disaster, but later admitted forces were still conducting raids and accused the insurgents of ambushing relief convoys. The rebels have in turn insisted they are sticking to their own unilateral ceasefire, and are only using their weapons in self-defence.

The rebels' prime minister in exile, Malik Mahmud, said in a statement Thursday he was willing to hold ceasefire talks with the Indonesian government. "We are prepared to meet with [Indonesia] to agree the optimum modalities to ensure the success of the ceasefire and thereby minimise the suffering of the Acehnese people," he said in the statement.