Jakarta – Continued violence between separatists and the military has claimed 11 lives in the past two days in the troubled Indonesian province of Aceh, sources and reports said Saturday.

Residents of North Aceh's Jeumpa district town of Bireun found the bodies of four unidentified people on Saturday outside a government district office, Iskandar Muda Legal Aid director Yacob Hamzah told AFP by telephone from Lhokseumawe.

"All four died of slash wounds that almost severed their heads. Their identities are unknown," he said.

Another man died early Friday when members of Free Aceh separatist movement (GAM) attacked a group of around 30 government troops as they travelled to the city of Lhokseumawe in northern Aceh, a rights worker said.

"A GAM member was killed and two troops were injured," Hamzah said.

He added that 10 armed GAM members in four cars had blocked the troops' path at Bayin village and started shooting. The dead man was identified as Nurdin, 22.

The troops were returning to their barracks on orders from Indonesian armed forces chief General Wiranto (eds: one name), who has promised to pull 1,200 crack riot troops – widely blamed for fuelling unrest in Aceh – back to their bases.

Meanwhile, another volunteer at Iskandar Muda said a resident of North Aceh's Samalanga district, Abdullah bin Ahmad, 30, was found dead on Friday two days after being taken in by the military.

"Abullah had been taken in during a military sweep. He was shot dead after he had been tortured," the volunteer said, requesting anonymity.

North Aceh residents had also found the bodies of three other civilians who were kidnapped by an unidentified group, Hamzah said.

"They were found, also with their heads nearly severed on Friday. Only one of them could be identified," he said.

Separately a police officer, from the North Aceh district of Dewantara, was found murdered on Friday night, a security member there said.

"A police officer was found dead last night in the Nisam district at 21:00. He had been stabbed to death," a security officer who prefered anonymity in Dewantara's main town of Krueng Geukeuh said.

Meanwhile an unidentified marksman in South Aceh district village of Ujung Padang Rasian killed an innocent passerby with two shots in the chest.

"The marksman is unknown and the victim was a farmer identified as Alim, 24," a duty officer at the main Tapak Tuan town, who identified himself only as Sudiro, said.

Hamzah said tens of thousands of refugees were heading home from makeshift camps after Wiranto's pledge.

He estimated that around 50,000 in the district of Pidie were returning home, but added those in Samalanga sub-district had remained in their camps "because there are still a lot of military in the woods".

Since May, some 140,000 people have fled their villages fearing violence from soldiers and separatist rebels, packing mosques and refugee centers in several Acehnese towns.

Crack Indonesian riot troops have been blamed for fuelling the violence that spiralled in Aceh after the military shot dead 41 civilians during a protest in Lhokseumawe on May 3. Separatist clash kills one, residents find four kidnap victims in Aceh