Military Says 677 Rebels Killed in Aceh (1400 Alleged Captures)

[DUreader]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3027158,00.html



JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesian troops
killed 677 rebels in Aceh province during the latest
campaign against a decades-old separatist
insurgency, military officials announced Thursday.

In addition, 1,400 guerrillas were captured since
the start of the government offensive May 19,
said navy Col. Ditya Sudarsono, a military
spokesman in the provincial capital of Banda
Aceh.

Forty-three soldiers and 12 paramilitary police
were killed in the offensive, he said.

The casualty figures could not be verified
independently.

Aceh province, on the northern tip of Sumatra
island, is an oil- and natural gas-rich region that is
home to 4.1 million people. There are now over
40,000 Indonesian troops in Aceh; the rebel force
is estimated at 2,000.