Robert Go, Banda Aceh – Indonesia said yesterday that 58 members of the separatist group, Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and five civilians have died in the troubled province since Jakarta's major offensive began.
Military officials also confirmed that fighting had intensified in several hotspots, including within Bireun and Pidie regencies to the east of Banda Aceh, and said troops were likely to encounter more resistance as the campaign progressed.
Other figures mentioned by the authorities' briefing document included 23 detained GAM members, 18 wounded and two dead Indonesian soldiers, and three marjiuana fields found by the authorities.
Troops have taken control of two small and sparsely populated islands near Banda Aceh after a two-day siege by navy ships. The number of schools torched by arsonists had also gone up from previous days to a total of 328 by yesterday.
GAM spokesmen had different numbers from the military and said that only 12 of their men have been killed so far, while over 50 civilians have fallen victim to the Indonesian military while soldiers chased after rebels.
Officers warned that more clashes between GAM and Indonesian forces could be expected in the near future. Military operations spokesman Firdaus Komarno told The Straits Times that gun battles took place in at least seven different areas of Aceh yesterday.
A grenade went off and injured one soldier at the Heroes' Cemetery in Banda Aceh, located just a few kilometres from the military's command centre.
He said: "Our troops are getting closer to GAM's nests and will see more contact with the enemies. The going is tough, as GAM members can blend in with civilians and we are trying to avoid civilian casualties. We have to be very careful." Indonesia's current Aceh campaign is trying to shrug off past charges of human-rights abuses and soldiers' reputations as bullies.
Mr Firdaus, however, admitted that military police were investigating allegations that soldiers executed as many as seven civilians, including a 12-year-old boy, in the northern village of Mapa Mamplam on Wednesday. He said: "We are looking into those reports. If our investigation shows soldiers are indeed responsible, then we will hand down punishments we promised at the beginning of this operation." Indonesia's Armed Forces Chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, said on Monday that he would order severe punishments against any soldiers who were caught abusing their authority or commiting human-rights violations during the Aceh offensive.
Meanwhile, according to the Xinhua news agency, the Indonesian police have submitted a request to 180 governments worldwide to capture the exiled leader of GAM, Mr Hasan Tiro, if he travels to their countries. Indonesian police believe that Mr Tiro, who now resides in Sweden, is responsible for a series of bombings across Indonesian cities, including bomb attacks at the Malaysian embassy and the Jakarta Stock Exchange building in 2000.