Michael Casey, Jakarta, Indonesia – An American journalist on the run with rebels in Aceh province said Wednesday that Indonesia's military wants to detain him on trumped-up charges and possibly shoot him.

Freelance journalist William Nessen defied a military order to surrender to the army by June 14, saying he first needs assurances he will not be jailed.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has urged President Megawati Sukarnoputri to help Nessen leave Aceh safely.

The US Embassy also has appealed to the government to give him safe passage.

Nessen is one of the last foreign journalists in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra, where the government launched a military offensive May 19 to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement. More than 300 people have died in the fighting. "I'm a journalist trying to get a story and I've done nothing wrong," Nessen said by telephone from Aceh.

"They have threatened me. They've called me a dog. I've heard the local commanders would love to shoot me. I believe I'm in some danger," he said. Military officials have said they would not harm Nessen but want to question him about his activities with the rebels.

The 46-year-old New York City native, whose wife is Achenese, said he had planned to stay a few weeks when he arrived in Aceh on May 12.

Soldiers fired at him when he tried to cross into a government- controlled area with refugees this month, he said. He has stayed with villagers since then.

Aceh's rebels have been fighting for independence in the oil- and gas-rich province since 1976.