Jakarta – The governor of Indonesia's war-torn Aceh province claimed Sunday that security was improving in the region, state news agency Antara reported, despite recent clashes that have killed at least nine alleged rebels.

Indonesian troops killed six suspected separatists on Friday. Three rebels were also shot dead Thursday, said local military spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari. He gave no more details.

Rebel leaders weren't available for comment. It is impossible to independently verify military claims about Aceh, because journalists are barred from most of the province.

Aceh's Jakarta-appointed governor, Abdullah Puteh, said that only 11 villages out of an estimated 5,000 in the province were classified as "black", or under control of the rebels, Antara reported.

"Even though there are villages in several districts that are still threatened by the Free Aceh Movement, in general the security situation is improving," Puteh was quoted as saying.

Human rights groups accuse the military of operating death squads in the oil- and gas-rich region on the northern tip of Sumatra island and say most victims are ordinary villagers.

Last month, the government downgraded a one-year state of martial law to a state of emergency in the province, handing authority back to a civilian administration. Still, the military continues to maintain a large presence there and has continued operations.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the province in the past year, after Jakarta abandoned an internationally mediated peace plan and launched a massive military operation to crush the insurgency.

The Free Aceh Movement began fighting in 1976 for an independent homeland in the province of 4.3 million people.