The Hague, Netherlands – Ten relatives of Indonesian men allegedly killed by Dutch troops in their country's bloody struggle for independence are demanding compensation and an apology from the Netherlands.

A lawyer for the Indonesians says their relatives were summarily executed by Dutch forces in a series of massacres in villages in South Sulawesi province in 1947.

Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld says more than 3,000 Indonesians were killed in three months during a Dutch crackdown intended to "cleanse" the province of pro-independence insurgents.

Monday's demand comes months after Zegveld successfully sued the Dutch state in a similar case – a massacre on Indonesia's main island of Java, also during the independence war. The foreign ministry said it was studying the claim.