Jakarta – Residents reported gun and mortarfire Sunday as the armed forces showed no signs of meeting a unilateral separatist deadline to pull back from their siege of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)positions AFP reported.

Residents reported hearing mortar rounds fired from themilitary positions before dawn Sunday near Cot Trieng, a swampy area where more than 1,000 troops have surrounded dozens of GAM for about three weeks.

The residents said the mortar rounds were followed by gunfire near the besieged area well into the day on Sunday.

The long-range mortar rounds are believed to be the first fired in a week and came ahead of a 0300 GMT Sunday deadline which GAM set for the military to show signs of withdrawing from the besieged area in Nisam district, southwest of Lhokseumawe city.

GAM had given the military 24 hours to begin a withdrawal and said if the deadline was not met, GAM intelligence units had orders to start shooting.

But the order to open fire had not yet been issued, GAM's deputy spokesman Isnandar Al-Pase said on Sunday after the deadline expired.

"The situation is still normal and GAM combat intelligence guerrillas are on full alert. The order to attack will be given if Indonesian soldiers are already extremely close to us," Al-Pase said.

The government hopes to sign the "cessation of hostilities" agreement on November 23 but in a statement from GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah from Sweden, Friday, GAM accused Indonesia of announcing signing dates independently.