Jakarta – The signing of the Aceh peace accord in 2005 has not freed the province from violence involving former rebels, as reports of attacks continue to escalate ahead of the general elections.

A recent report revealed that at least 16 people were killed in a series of attacks by unidentified gunmen between December 2008 and February 2009.

The joint report from the Aceh Reintegration Board (BRA) and the World Bank said the attacks also left at least 47 people seriously injured.

"Only four of the 16 people killed were clearly identified as being linked to political disputes," World Bank coordinator for the Aceh post-conflict program Muslahuddin told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. He added the remaining 12 fatalities were "unreasonable" and should be investigated by security authorities.

The report showed that violent incidents rose to higher levels in Aceh during this period, with 31 incidents reported in December, 36 in January and 26 in February. In addition to the casualties, the attacks also saw 17 buildings or vehicles damaged.

Muslahuddin said the data was collected from the local media in Aceh and by a joint team that carried out investigations to verify some of the more serious incidents.

But the leap in the number of violent incidents was largely linked with preelection events, which accounted for a quarter to a third of all violence in January and February.

There was a surge in grenade explosions, arson and other attacks on political parties (13 cases); while three or four members of the Aceh Party and the Aceh Transitional Committee (KPA) were killed in early February.

The tensions between these organizations and security forces heightened to alarming levels and raised fears of an escalation in violence in the run-up to the elections.

The Aceh Party, a local political group established by former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) combatants to contest next month's legislative polls, was the main target of attacks.

"The violence brought tensions in the field to alarming levels, and Aceh Party supporters in particular are increasingly restive," Muslahuddin said. "Many former GAM members receive terror threats in text messages, saying their leader Hasan Tiro will be killed."

He added the various factions of the former GAM had allowed the group to be easily manipulated by other people. "Of course it could be happen because the former GAM members were arrogant," Muslahuddin said, adding many of them currently occupied strategic economic and political posts in Aceh.

National-based parties also suffered a slew of attacks. There were at least five cases of physical violence reported against members of the Golkar Party, the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Members of these parties admit they are afraid of campaigning in some areas along the east coast of Aceh due to terror threats and intimidation. Aceh Party supporters should be held responsible for some of the violence, the report said.

Muslahuddin said tensions in Aceh would intensify in the days before the April 9 polls, especially because security forces had failed to identify and arrest the attackers. "Even now, there are no significant results from the investigations into these cases," he said. (naf)