Sian Powell, Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Aceh claim their hard-won draft peace agreement with Jakarta has been endangered by an accelerating military campaign of intimidation and violence in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week ordered the military to cease hunting the rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), an order repeated by Indonesia's supreme military chief, Endriatono Sutarto.

The general told his troops to hunt rebels only if they committed crimes. But separatists said yesterday unprovoked violence had intensified and could hinder the final signing of the agreement, scheduled for August 15.

GAM spokesman Sofyan Dawood, speaking from the Aceh jungle, told The Australian that Indonesian soldiers had besieged a village on Monday. "The TNI (Indonesian military) is still conducting military operations," he said. "It's even worse than before the draft agreement was finalised."

Rebels earlier claimed at least 10 people had been killed since the agreement was negotiated. Mr Dawood said the next few weeks were crucial for the chances of long-term peace in Aceh, where a separatist conflict has raged for more than three decades, killing as many as 15,000 people.

"If there is no meeting point (on a scale-down of operations), there is the possibility the negotiations will be affected," he said. "The military is now looking for wealth. They have asked for money from the people, from leaders in Aceh. It's a provable violation."

Mr Dawood said if the violence continued, he could call a halt to the whole peace agreement process. "Indoneesia must be strict," he said. "The chief must able to manage his soldiers."

The Indonesian military has denied any wrongdoing. Lieutenant Colonel Erie Sutiko, military spokesman in the Acehnese city of Lhokseumawe, said soldiers were following the Government's orders and staying put in their sectors.

"We cannot do anything outside our sector, including pursuit, even if it's a GAM leader," he said. "Now we are just co-ordinating security and reconstruction for Aceh." The rebels' claims, he said, were fabrications. "So far, the TNI in Aceh has fully supported the policy of the Government."

The Government has agreed to begin phasing out its 40,000-strong military and police presence in Aceh before the year's end, in conjunction with the surrender and destruction of rebel weapons. The rebels have agreed to "set aside" their claims for independence, and Jakarta has agreed to push forward GAM's political aspirations.