Indonesian soldiers have killed 11 people in Aceh province where a major offensive against separatists is in its 18th month. Soldiers shot down five Free Aceh Movement separatists in clashes in northern Aceh on Wednesday, said Aceh military spokesman Ari Mulya Asnawi. The other six were shot in three districts on Tuesday and Monday, Asnawi said. The government on Friday is expected to announce a six-month extension of a civil emergency in Aceh - in which civilian authorities can order press censorship, curfews and other restrictions.
According to the Jakarta Post, the move to prolong the civil emergency state first imposed in May 2004 after a year of martial law, has already won full backing from parliament. "We have no objection to the plan ... . The extension is necessary as we have to maintain the security situation in the province," the paper quoted the house speaker Agung Laksono as saying. |