ABC AUSTRALIA, 21/01/2005, 09:10:30
Indonesian army claims 120 Aceh rebels killed since tsunami
The Indonesian army says soldiers have killed at least 120 separatist rebels in
tsunami-hit Aceh province despite a ceasefire agreed after the tsunami disaster.
A huge international relief effort is underway in the province, which was devastated by
the December 26 earthquake and tsunami.
Most of the 166,000 people who were killed in Indonesia died in Aceh, which is also
the scene of a bloody, three-decade-long insurgency.
The army's chief of staff says in the past two weeks troops were forced to kill at least
120 members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and seize their weapons.
General Ryamizard Ryacudu made the statement to Antara news agency during a
visit to the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.
He says if the rebels refuse to negotiate, the army will continue to hunt them down
and if they will not surrender the military will crush them.
Tsunami victims 'still lacking aid'
The Red Cross says there may be victims of the tsunami in Indonesia who have not
yet received any form of aid, a month after the disaster.
Our reporter in Banda Aceh, Rachel Mealey, says the Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies says hundreds of people may not have received any form of
humanitarian assistance in tsunami affected areas.
A Red Cross spokesman, Langdon Green Hall, says access to some villages on the
west coast of Aceh is limited and those in question number in the hundreds, rather
than the thousands.
He says the Red Cross has set up regional hubs to distribute aid to affected areas.
The World Health Organization says a framework for the relief effort should be
established in time to meet the deadline set by the Indonesian government for the
removal of foreign forces.
The total death toll from the tsunami now stands at close to 222,000 people in 11
countries.
Singapore to withdraw soldiers
Singapore has wound down its biggest-ever humanitarian effort, announcing plans to
withdraw soldiers from Aceh and other areas savaged by the tsunami.
The defence minister, Teo Chee Hean, announced the decision in the Acehnese
fishing village of Meulaboh, during a speech to Singaporean and Indonesian soldiers.
Singapore was spared in the December 26 disaster because it it sheltered by
Indonesia's Sumatra island to its west.
However, its relief effort was swift, with Singapore troops and aid reaching remote
regions such as Meulaboh a week after the disaster.
Mr Teo says three helicopters will stay in Aceh to ferry supplies, and says Singapore
is looking at other ways to help in reconstruction, possibly by building new piers.
©2005 ABC
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