Jakarta – The Indonesian military's top commander denied reports that armed militias continued to exist in Aceh, threatening the province's fragile path towards peace, local media reports said Friday.

Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) commander-in-chief Endriartono Sutarto denied allegations about militias that have come from both rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and independent sources.

"I have neither seen nor set up any militia in Aceh," Endriartono was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency Antara after attending a meeting between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and retired military and policemen.

Endriartono said the military would continue lobbying all parties to support the ongoing peace process, which was kick-started after the December 26 tsunami left some 170,000 people dead or missing.

After months of negotiations in Helsinki, Finland, a peace accord was signed on August 15, and rebels began disarming on September 15. The military has also begun pulling troops out of the province.

The Indonesian government has withdrawn thousands of soldiers and police from the province, while GAM rebels have surrendered over 200 weapons, according to members of the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM).

The disarmament and withdrawal has gone smoothly so far, with international observers saying the process of disarming rebels and withdrawing troops could be accelerated, and the second round could begin ahead of schedule on October 15.

The August 15 agreement prohibits any "illegal organizations" and Endriartono said any violators of the agreement would be punished.