The Indonesian military has threatened to use force against Aceh separatist rebels if they fail to disarm starting February 9 as required by a December peace agreement.

The warning underscores the fragile state of the ceasefire agreement which was signed by the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva on December 9 in an effort to end 26 years of conflict.

"If they violate the agreement, there's no other option for us but to use force and take emergency action," Aceh military commander Major General Djali Yusuf said.

"GAM has spread many lies to the public. If they don't want [to abide by the agreement] just say so. February 9 will be the benchmark," he said, referring to the date on which GAM is required to start laying down their guns at designated sites.

There has been a sharp decrease in violence since the signing of the truce but the military and GAM have accused each other of violating the peace pact. On Friday the rebels also accused the military of bad faith.

"We ... feel that the Indonesian side is still not sincere in carrying out the clauses of the agreement. They are still intensely seeking any loophole to be used and abused for their advantage to the maximum," said GAM spokesman Sofyan Daud Friday.

"The TNA [Aceh national army] is still having to send condolences to families of victims of killings and other atrocities perpetrated by the Indonesian side," Daud said in a statement obtained by AFP.

Since the signing of the deal at least 19 civilians, three rebels and five members of the security forces have been killed.

An average of 87 civilians were killed every month in most of 2002, according to the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), which has mediated the peace talks between Jakarta and GAM since 2000.

Each side has accused the other of extorting money from the population.

The Joint Security Committee (JSC) charged with monitoring the ceasefire has received reports of 499 violations since the JSC's formation on December 20, Major General Tanongsuk Tuvinun, of Thailand, told reporters late Thursday. Tanongsuk, senior JSC envoy for the HDC, said that of those 499 allegations, his monitoring teams have investigated 35.

The JSC last week criticised for the first time both GAM and the Indonesian government for truce violations. The committee of the government, GAM and foreign representatives monitoring the ceasefire delivered the rebuke after the two sides publicly admitted wrongdoing.

The Aceh conflict has claimed an estimated 10,000 lives since 1976.