Jakarta – Troops shot and killed two separatist rebels in separate clashes in Aceh province, officials said on Tuesday.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Agus Dwiyanto said an insurgent was killed during a clash in East Aceh on Sunday. On Saturday, a rebel was killed in western Aceh when guerillas ambushed a government patrol.

The latest deaths brought to at least 27 the number of deaths in Aceh since new President Megawati Sukarnoputri visited the province earlier this month.

Thousands of people, most of them civilians, have been killed during the 26-year separatist war on the northern tip of Sumatra Island, about 1,750km northwest of Jakarta. About 1,200 have died this year alone.