Washington – The Indonesian government's human rights record remained poor last year and it continued to commit serious abuses especially in war-torn Aceh province, the US State Department said Wednesday.

"Security force members murdered, tortured, raped, beat and arbitrarily detained civilians and members of separatist movements," the department said in its annual worldwide rights survey.

The government also often failed adequately to protect the rights of children, women, peaceful protesters, journalists, disabled persons, religious minorities and indigenous people, it said.

Jakarta last May imposed martial law in Aceh and launched a major military offensive to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

"Despite some evidence that military commanders [in Aceh] wished to improve the behaviour of their troops in the field, numerous human rights violations occurred. Unlawful killings, beatings, and torture by soldiers, police, and rebels were common," the report said. "In many cases, the victims were not combatants but civilians." The State Department also reports killings, widespread torture and arson attacks by security forces in Papua province, where separatist sentiment has been strong for decades.