Banda Aceh – One of the two military commanders in the restive Indonesian province of Aceh admitted yesterday to having ordered his troops to catch a traditional leader and his followers "dead or alive".

But Colonel Syafnil Armen told a court trying 24 soldiers charged with the massacre of Tengku Bantaqiah, an Islamic boarding school leader, and 57 of his followers in West Aceh last year that his troops were not guilty as they had only been following his orders. The colonel heads the North Aceh-based Lilawangsa military command.

The soldiers could face the death sentence if found guilty of the massacre which took place in the Beutong Ateuh area of West Aceh in July last year during an operation to seize arms allegedly hidden by Mr Bantaqiah.

Three military witnesses on Wednesday told the court that the troops opened fire on the civilians because they were under attack. The military at the time described the operation as a raid on armed separatists.

The colonel said the July operation had been carried out based on information extracted from one of Mr Bantaqiah's aides, who had been caught by the military, that 100 firearms were hidden in the boarding school. "What was found were only two firearms and a number of sharp weapons," he said. The trial resumes tomorrow.