Rebels, soldier killed in Aceh violence

[bemildred]

Another place where an attempt to solve policitcal problems
with military means is bloodily going nowhere.

At least 19 people are reported to have died in violence in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province.

The bloodshed mounted over the weekend before a key review of military operations to crush a long-running separatist struggle.

One soldier and 10 rebels were killed in separate clashes on Sunday, said Aceh military spokesman Ari Mulya Asnawi, while Indonesian troops claimed to have killed eight suspected rebels in five encounters a day earlier.

If confirmed, the latest deaths follow one of the bloodiest weeks for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels since the May 2003 launch of a government offensive to end their 28-year fight.

al Jazeera