Indonesian troops and separatist rebels have fought their fiercest battle since a campaign was launched last month to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the military said.
At least seven soldiers have been shot dead and seven wounded – the military's worst casualty toll since the assault was launched on May 19 and martial law was declared in the province on Sumatra island. "This is the heaviest battle between troops of the Indonesian armed forces and GAM since martial law was imposed in Aceh," said military operations spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Yani Basuki.
The clash began late Monday at Matang Kumbang in Bireuen district and lasted until early Tuesday, Basuki said, with 40 marines and 22 infantrymen battling an estimated 60 rebels.
Basuki said the rebels also suffered casualties but could not provide immediate details. He said the bodies of three marines had been recovered while the bodies of two marines and two infantrymen were still on the battlefield.
The spokesman could not be reached for an update later Tuesday but was quoted by Koran Tempo newspaper's online edition as saying that two companies, or about 200 men, have been sent as reinforcements. Basuki also said a firefight broke out at Krueng Pati Garue in East Aceh in which two rebels were shot dead and a firearm confiscated.
Twenty soldiers and three policemen have now died in Aceh since May 19. Troops have also killed 160 rebels, according to the military, with more than 300 placed in custody.
The military denies reports from villagers that some of the dead were civilians and says it is trying to protect ordinary Acehnese.
At a court-martial in Lhokseumawe a military prosecutor recommended jail sentences of between seven months and eight months and 20 days for three soldiers who assaulted civilians in Bireuen district on May 27, the state Antara news agency said. The court martial, the second under martial law, resumes Wednesday. Three soldiers have been jailed for four months over the same charges – linked to the beating-up of villagers in Lawang village, Bireuen during a hunt for rebels. A second lieutenant is also to face a court-martial.
Police, meanwhile, accused GAM of abducting 23 village chiefs in the rebel stronghold of Bireuen district.
"Their aim in abducting those village heads is to force them to resign from their posts," said district police chief Commissioner Laksa Widiyana. He said the rebel group responsible is headed by Kautsar, the son of an Aceh legislator.
Some 76 other village heads in Bireuen district resigned Sunday, saying they were unable to perform their duties because of harassment from both sides.
GAM has been fighting since 1976 for independence for the province. An estimated 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then.