Five dead in Indonesian rebel attacks

Soldiers among victims of shootings

At least five people were killed in violence in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, security officers and witnesses said.

At least five people were killed in violence in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province, security officers and witnesses said.

Separatist rebels shot and killed two soldiers on a motorbike yesterday in a town in the north of the region, 1,100 miles north-west of Jakarta, said Lt Col Erda Bachtiar.

Local people claimed troops killed a villager and burned dozens of houses when searching for the assailants. In Pidie regency, security officials gunned down a rebel leader when he tried to evade arrest, police said.

On Tuesday, a joint security force shot a suspected separatist to death in west Aceh, said the local police commander, Maj Bambang Ramlan.

The latest deaths bring to at least 19 the number of people killed in the region since rebel representatives and government officials agreed to extend a peace agreement 10 days ago.

Aceh is an oil- and gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra, where separatist guerrillas have been fighting for independence since 1975. More than 6,000 people have been killed in the past decade.

Elsewhere in Indonesia, a soldier was killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians on Seram island in Maluku province, the local military chief, Brig. Gen. I Made Yasa, said. More than 30 houses were gutted by fire in the fighting on Wednesday, he said.

Muslims and Christians have been battling each other for more than two years in the region, 1,600 east of Jakarta, once known for its communal harmony. At least 5,000 people have died in the conflict.