Jakarta – At least six people, including two soldiers and a member of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), were killed in the latest violence to hit Aceh, AFP reported.

Three civilians were shot dead by soldiers searching for members of GAM in Manyang Baroh, in the North Aceh district, early on Sunday, the local GAM spokesman Teungku Jamaica said.

Jamaica said that the three victims, who were arrested at their respective home and shot dead in front of the village mosque, were "civilians who hadnothing to do with the GAM." An Aceh military spokesman, Col. Firdaus Komarno said that he has not received report of such incident.

He said one soldier and one rebel were killed during a shootout in Seulimun, in the Aceh Besar district, on Saturday. The local GAM spokesman Teungku Mukhsalmina confirmed that one rebel was killed in the incident.

The violence took place a few days before the 26th anniversary of the GAM on December 4 and a scheduled signing of a peace pact between government andrebel representatives to end the long conflict on December 9.

Firdaus said that some 1,400 soldiers on Sunday entered their 33rd day of siege of a marshy area in Cot Trieng, North Aceh district, where several GAMleaders and troops were believed to be holding out. The siege has been tightened and the rebels are now confined to a two square kilometers area.