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Rebels killed on Aceh battlefield
By Atika Shubert, CNN Correspondent
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (CNN) -- Scores of schools have been burned down and dozens of rebels killed as more troops and military hardware pour into Indonesia's Aceh province after a government crackdown on separatists. Indonesian troops are moving aggressively against the rebels after the launch of a major military offensive, according to CNN's Atika Shubert. Rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have been engaging in guerrilla warfare, falling back on a familiar tactic used in their independence movement that began nearly 30 years ago. Officials said there have been a number of clashes and shooting incidents along a major roadway connecting the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, to the neighboring province. Indonesian military officials blame rebels for the destruction and government troops are sweeping villages in their hunt for guerrilla fighters. Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has urged her people to support her decision to launch the offensive, which she said she did with a heavy heart. Jakarta has deployed more than 35,000 troops to Aceh in an offensive likely to be Indonesia's largest military operation since the occupation of East Timor in 1975. Rebel forces are estimated to number about 10,000. The military action was expected and follows Megawati's declaration of martial law in the province at midnight Sunday. The declaration came after last-ditch talks between the government and rebels -- held in Tokyo over the weekend -- broke down with the two sides still far from agreement. Under martial law, Indonesian authorities are permitted to arrest anyone deemed a security threat to the nation; to shut down communications in the province, including blacking out news broadcasts; and to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the province. Ready for warMonday's offensive began after neither side showed they would budge over the issue of independence for the troubled province on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.
The staunchly Muslim Acehnese have waged an armed insurgency for independence from the world's most populous Muslim nation since 1976. They say the Indonesian government has backed them into a corner, and they are ready for war. At least 10,000 people have died in violence since the beginning of the independence movement. The Indonesian government has threatened military action in Aceh for weeks, charging that GAM rebels have repeatedly violated a December 9 cease-fire agreement. The rebels claim government troops are the chief offenders. Peace observers say that both sides have violated the agreement, and human rights groups have accused both of mass atrocities. The December agreement called for an immediate cease-fire and elections to put in place an Acehnese legislature that will provide the basis for an autonomous government within Indonesia. Aceh has grown restive over the years of Indonesian rule with many of its four million mostly poor inhabitants perceiving Jakarta as an occupying force plundering the province's natural resources while giving little in return. In an attempt to ease separatist tensions, in January 2002 the central government granted Aceh special autonomy, including the implementation of Islamic shariah law and greater revenue sharing from the exploitation of its natural resources. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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