Indonesia's military suffered a rare casualty when a soldier was killed in a clash with separatist rebels in restive Aceh province on the eve of another round of peace talks, the army said on Monday. It said 20 Indonesian army (TNI) soldiers were ambushed by about 30 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels on Sunday while they were on their way to a bridge reconstruction site in Aceh Jaya regency on the west coast of the tsunami-wrecked province. The clash came a day before another round of peace talks in Helsinki aimed at ending three decades of violence and securing a lasting peace for the gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. The military in Aceh said in a statement that seven other soldiers were wounded. Three critically wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital in Medan in North Sumatra province, it said. Few soldiers have been killed in the most recent months of the offensive in Aceh, launched in May 2003. Sunday's death of the unidentified soldier was the first since the Dec. 26 tsunami.
In a separate incident, the army said on Monday that outgoing army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu fired shots as a convoy he was travelling in chased a group of rebels. Local media showed pictures of Ryamizard firing an automatic weapon.