Police investigate deadly attack on ex-rebels in Aceh

By FAKHRURRADZIE GADE, The Associated Press Writer

Banda Aceh, Aceh | Mon, 03/03/2008 8:04 PM | National

Former rebels in Aceh warned of fresh conflict Monday after a 100-strong mob torched one of their offices, killing six people and underscoring tensions in the region since a 2005 peace deal.

It was unclear whether the attackers burned the victims alive or hacked them to death before setting the building alight, officials said.

The attack happened early Sunday in Aceh's central highlands.

Ibrahim Syamsuddin, a spokesman for the former rebels, said the incident was related to a dispute between the ex-fighters and a local union over control of revenues from a local bus station.

Syamsuddin also alleged some of the attackers were former members of a pro-Jakarta militia blamed for attacks on separatists and civilian sympathizers during the conflict. Their relationship with the union members was not immediately clear.

Many ex-rebels and militia members turned to gang warfare since the war ended. Bus stations and other transport hubs in Indonesia are often targeted by criminal gangs seeking illegal levies.

Syamsuddin demanded police "uncover the truth" behind the incident.

"If they do not, a new conflict will erupt in Aceh," he said, giving no more details.

Local police chief Agus Budi Kawedar declined to speculate on a motive for the attack, but pledged to "get to the bottom of this."

The Free Aceh Movement signed a peace agreement with the Indonesian government in August 2005 to end 29 years of fighting that killed more than 15,000 people. A former rebel leader is now governor of the province, which under the deal was granted greater autonomy.

Violence between the two sides has ended, though analysts have warned political tensions and financial disagreements between former rebels risk undermining the deal unless they are resolved.

There have been sporadic clashes among ex-combatants since the deal, but Sunday's attack was the deadliest.

The agreement was forged in the aftermath of the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed more than 160,000 people in Aceh. (Published in The Jakarta Post, International Herald Tribune)

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