Banda Aceh – At least four more people including a soldier and a rebel have been killed in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, the military said Friday.

A soldier died Thursday in a 30-minute skirmish with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels in Bireuen district, said Aceh military spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin.

Local rebel commander Darwis Jeunieb said there were no casualties from his side but claimed that troops had killed three civilians following the incident. There was no confirmation of the three civilian deaths.

Residents in the Tanah Pasir area of North Aceh on Thursday found an unidentified body bearing gunshot wounds on a road, witnesses said.

A rebel was shot dead after he tried to wrestle guns from soldiers following his arrest in the Panyang area of Pidie district on Wednesday, Muttaqin said. Also in Pidie, humanitarian workers said they found an unidentified male corpse in the Meureudu area on Tuesday.

Indonesian officials and rebel leaders are scheduled to resume peace talks in Geneva at the end of April. GAM rebels have been fighting for an independent state in Aceh since 1976. An estimated 10,000 people, mainly civilians, have died since then and more than 400 people have been killed this year alone.