48 bodies found in mass grave in Aceh

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Authorities in Aceh said they have uncovered a grave containing 48 bodies, the largest mass grave found in the troubled province where guerrillas are fighting to end Indonesian rule.

The bodies were discovered near Lhong village in western Aceh after a captured rebel reported the grave during interrogation, said Lt. Col. Firdaus, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

Firdaus said it was not clear who the victims were or how they had died.

Aceh is on the northern tip of Sumatra island, about 1,800 kilometers northwest of Jakarta.

Some 6,000 people have died in the province's conflict in the past decade, including 1000 this year. The province has 4 million inhabitants.

The war escalated sharply in March, when government troops launched an offensive to destroy the insurgents.

Authorities in Aceh found 51 bodies in two separate mass graves in a ravine in the province's north in 1999, and later found 11 bodies in graves near Blang Buloh village in January 2000.

Human rights activists have blamed most of the deaths on Indonesian forces and the militias they back, although the separatists have also been accused of abusing human rights.

In the latest violence in Aceh, rebels shot and killed two soldiers and a police officer in a clash late Wednesday, security officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.