Jakarta – Indonesian forces shot dead three alleged rebels during armed clashes in the troubled province of Aceh in north Sumatra, as separatist representatives seek a team to probe the escalating violence there, reports said Wednesday.

A raid by three platoons of security forces on a suspected rebel headquarters in Cot Baro Tepi Raya village in the Glumpang Tiga subdistrict of Pidie district on Saturday led to a clash during which three suspected rebels were killed, the state Antara news agency said.

One of the victims was Teungku Yahya, the deputy commander of the rebel command in Pidie, according to a release from the national police cited by Antara. Security forces also confiscated one M-16 automatic rifle, one revolver, ammunition for grenade launchers, one grenade and several home-made bombs.

Violence between government and rebel forces has continued unabated despite the extention of a three-month truce last month. Representatives of the Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) separatist movement (GAM) who are monitoring the truce have called for a team to investigate into the continuing violence in the territory, Antara said.

"We think such a team in Aceh is necessary in order to know the real violators of the second Humanitarian Pause in the province," GAM's spokesman for the Security Modality Monitoring team, Nasrullah Dahlawy, was quoted by Antara as saying. The "Humanitarian Pause" is the official term for the truce, which is now extended until January.

Dahlawy said the team should not only monitor but should also assess and make conclusions about the violence. He cited a similar team in Kosovo which was popularly called "Verification Mission", manned by foreign civilians to monitor any conflict. "This is quite good for Aceh at present."

Members of the "Aceh Verification Mission" could come from "neutral countries," – countries who have not stated their position on the Aceh conflict, Dahlawy suggested.

"The team may find those who fire first, kill people, burn schools and government offices and others," he said. But vice chief of police operations in Aceh, Superintendent Yatim Suyatmo, dismissed the proposal as "not too urgent." "I think it is not the right time to accept the presence of foreigners in Aceh, as their unbiased attitude in doing the job is still questionable," Suyatmo said.

GAM has waged a guerrilla war since 1976 for an independent Islamic state in Aceh, a resource-rich region on the northern tip of Sumatra island. Military brutality during a nine-year long government operation that ended in 1998, and the perceived exploitation of Aceh's oil and gas reserves by Jakarta has fed separatist sentiment in the province.