Rebels fighting for the independence of Aceh province are willing to engage in peace talks with Indonesia but say the country is not serious about negotiations, a senior guerrilla said from his rural hideout.

Banda Aceh – Villagers cross a river on a makeshift ferry as Indonesian soldiers work to reconstruct a bridge which was swept away by last month's tsunami in Loknga, near Banda Aceh. Agence France-Presse photo

The military chief in Indonesia's Aceh province described foreigners providing relief aid for tsunami survivors in the region as insolent for refusing to follow directives given by local officers.

Jakarta – The government said on Sunday that the emergency situation in tsunami-ravaged Aceh is now nearly over, and that foreign troops should gradually be replaced by civilians.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Alwi Shihab said it was "only logical" for foreign militaries to start withdrawing their personnel from Aceh.

Matthew Moore, Banda Aceh – More than three weeks after the tsunami that wiped out much of Aceh's west coast, aid was continuing to arrive in a chaotic manner. Lack of water, sanitation and food was causing relief experts deep concern.

Jay Solomon and Andrew Higgins, Banda Aceh – Government authorities here said they are investigating claims by an Indonesian anticorruption watchdog that the number of refugees in some Aceh camps has been significantly inflated by local officials seeking to get more aid – an early signal that graft might compromise some tsunami-relief work.

The Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, or GAM) was founded on 4 December 1976 by Hasan di Tiro – a descendant of the last sultan of Aceh.

The group has grown from an initial membership of just 150 rebels to a military strength now estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000.

Jakarta – An American journalist will be deported from Indonesia after immigration officers said he entered the country illegally, despite granting him a visa when he arrived three weeks ago, the immigration department said.

Barbara Demick, Banda Aceh – From behind a rickety wooden crate on which he has spread out cans of Coca-Cola and cigarettes, Mohammed Yunus warily eyes the bare legs of a blond woman in khaki shorts as she helps carry a ladder.

A welter of emotions flickers over his face. Until three weeks ago, this sleepy provincial capital was about as far off the beaten track as it got.

Indonesia ramped up its peace bid for tsunami-hit Aceh, saying it would consider anything except independence in talks with separatist rebels, while trying to reassure the world that relief aid was safe from endemic corruption.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – State Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Syamsir Siregar has called on the government to be alert to possible spying from foreign forces deployed in tsunami-devastated Aceh for relief aid operations.

Rebels in Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province accused the government of abandoning an informal cease-fire after the military said it had killed scores of suspected guerrillas to protect aid deliveries.

The Indonesian government will consider anything except independence for tsunami-hit Aceh province as it tries to broker a peace with separatist rebels, a senior minister says.

"We will entertain any demand short of independence," Social Welfare Minister Alwi Shihab, who is overseeing relief operations in Aceh, told reporters in the devastated capital of Banda Aceh.

Deborah Cameron, Jakarta – The tears pool in her deep, wise eyes. Yes, parcels of baby food and milk have been sent, but the greatest of all needs – a family and a future - does not come condensed in a bottle. If it did, Rin Tjiptono could stop worrying.

Kobe, Japan – Political constraints in Indonesia are discouraging international non-governmental organizations from assisting victims of Asia's tsunamis, activists at a global conference on disasters said on Saturday.

The United States yesterday called for a political solution of the conflict in the Indonesian province of Aceh, with a top Pentagon official arguing that Indonesia's military should be "pushed to get out of the way" if it tries to sabotage attempts at a negotiated settlement.

Indonesia's army and the Free Aceh separatist movement, GAM, have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire in the province so devasted by the tsunami. The Army Chief of Staff General Ryamizard Ryucudu says the armed forces have killed 120 GAM fighters over the last two weeks. The figure has been disputed by a GAM spokesperson who claims the ceasefire is largely holding.

Banda Aceh – A massive world outpouring of aid to tsunami-stricken Aceh had relief agencies rushing to reach survivors, but many are now questioning if the region is "over-aided".

United Nations figures showed at least 100 NGOs have flooded into the northern Indonesia province after the tsunami left a half-million homeless.

Manuela Badawy, New York – A US Muslim group on Thursday accused evangelist Jerry Falwell of using money donated for tsunami relief to convert people in South Asia to Christianity and called on the Bush administration to denounce his actions.

Suliyanti, Jakarta - People's Representative Assembly Commission I for Defense and Foreign Affairs is urging the military (TNI) to remain resolute and on guard against the armed separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta - National Intelligence Agencey (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar says that foreigners in Aceh definitely have specific interests other than the humanitarian mission. Based on BIN's data, as well as thousands of volunteers the number of foreign troops presently in Aceh has reached 19,000 personnel.

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta - The Aceh Working Group (AWG) opposes the plan to form the Special Authority Agency for Aceh because it has the potential to turn the Acehnese people into 'objects'.

Ian Fisher, Banda Aceh – Business is coming back to Banda Aceh, a city hit hard by the tsunami, and not all of it fits into neat moral boxes.

The United Nations said the destruction in Indonesia's Aceh province, the worst-hit area in the December 26 Asian tsunami, is "truly staggering" after relief teams reported back to the General Assembly.

Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra was already hard to access and closed to foreigners for two years because of a separatist rebellion before the tsunami.

Max Lane – On December 26, one of the worst earthquakes in a century sent a massive tsunami travelling at 800 kilometres per hour out from an epicentre off the island of Sumatra. This tsunami hit a series of countries around the Bay of Bengal and down to the tip of Sumatra, Aceh.

Philip Cornford in Banda Aceh, Cynthia Banham and agencies – The infamous former pro-Indonesian militia commander in East Timor, Eurico Guterres, yesterday denied he had visited Banda Aceh to organise a militia to fight against rebels from the Free Aceh Movement, known as GAM.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Accelerating hostilities in the tsunami-devastated Indonesian province of Aceh have killed as many as 110 people since the Boxing Day disaster, separatist rebels claim, including more than 80 unarmed civilians.

[Interview with US Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz. Sections not directly related to South-East Asia and Aceh have been edited out - JB.]

Newsmaker: Paul Wolfowitz

Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces have allowed unprecedented access to Aceh province since it was devastated by last month's tsunami, but relations with the thousands of foreigners involved in the aid effort could quickly turn sour if the military feels its control there is being threatened, some analysts warn.

Ellen Nakashima, Aceh Besar – A rebel commander, Muharram Idris, said he knew the risk when he sent his men down from the mountains on a rescue mission after the tsunami crashed ashore. Evading Indonesian military patrols, they slogged for hours through the mud to the seaside villages closest to their hideouts in the hills, bringing all the supplies they could.

Jane Perlez and Evelyn Rusli, Kling Meria – Like many of the hundreds of thousands of survivors left homeless by the recent tsunami, Mohamed Adan, his wife and their six children confront an unpalatable choice about where to go now. But here in Aceh that decision must be made at the intersection of natural calamity and civil war.

John Mcbeth – Nationalism, often tinged with conspiracy theories and a measure of xenophobia, is never far from the surface in Indonesia.

Marianne Kearney – A military-backed militia group responsible for widespread killing and looting when Indonesia pulled out of East Timor has established a base in tsunami-devastated Aceh. The local leader of Laskar Merah Putih, or Red and White Troops, says the group is ready to defend the province from separatists.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Dozens of members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) moved swiftly out of the pickup trucks as they arrived at the mosque in Ajun residential area in tsunami-battered Banda Aceh.

A brief prayer started their work on Sunday to locate and remove the corpses around the area and to clean up the mosque.

John Aglionby – Rahmatun is almost inaudible over the drone of the low-flying aid helicopter. Pointing upwards, the softly spoken 14-year-old eventually makes herself understood. "That's what I want to do when I grow up," she says. Her smile implies she is aware that this is not the standard career choice of a devoutly Muslim teenage girl in Aceh. "I want to be a pilot.

Matthew Moore, Banda Aceh – Muharram believes the foreign presence in Aceh will help GAM's cause.

Andi Hajramurni, Banda Aceh – At least six people in Banda Aceh, including two children, have died of tetanus over the past several days, while 30 others have been hospitalized with severe infections.

Vaudine England – His long flowing hair and tight jeans mark him out as a young intellectual even before he starts talking.

Michael Vatikiotism Meulaboh – Indonesia Almost a month after the tsunami, the town of Meulaboh still reeks of death and misery. As I drove down the main street, named after the great Acehnese leader Teuku Umar, images of Dresden and Tokyo after the firebombings sprang to mind, even after some intensive cleanup.

Matthew Moore reports – It is more than 13 years since Max Stahl shot his famous footage of Indonesian troops massacring East Timorese at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili. Hiding behind gravestones, Stahl stayed calm as he filmed hundreds of Timorese fleeing a relentless spray of automatic fire, some reaching safety, many falling dead or wounded before his lens.

In the first weeks of the aftermath of the tsunami of December 26, we were stunned by the severity of the destruction, and thankful for the many small miracles of survival told by enduring residents.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Montasik – Acehnese rebels fighting for an independent homeland have descended from the isolation of northern Sumatra's mountains to restock and regroup after the tsunami that killed 100,000 on the Indonesian island.

Ian Fisher, Calang – This town was not just destroyed. It vanished. After almost three weeks, only 323 bodies have been found. Before December 26, when the tsunami swept in from both sides of the pretty tropical peninsula that once cradled Calang, 7,300 people lived here.

Matthew Moore in Banda Aceh and Cynthia Banham – The acting governor of Aceh has asked foreign troops and aid workers to stay and provide "long-term support" for victims of the tsunami despite growing pressure from the Indonesian Government for all foreign troops to leave by the end of March.

Andrew Burrell, Banda Aceh – The acting governor of Aceh said yesterday he was "frightened" of being abandoned by the thousands of foreign troops and aid workers involved in the massive humanitarian mission in his tsunami-battered province.

Norbert Vollertsen, Banda Aceh – I feel almost as if I am back in North Korea again. The military road blocks, heavily armed police tanks at every street corner and thousands of soldiers everywhere all remind me of the 18 months I spent in the Stalinist state.

Raymond Bonner, New York Times, Jakarta – The US ambassador here said on Thursday that the United States was not troubled by the demands by the Indonesian government that aid workers in Aceh Province register and that all foreign troops be gone by the end of March.

Prospects for peace in Indonesia's war-torn and tsunami-hit Aceh province were lifted by an offer of talks from separatist rebels, but tensions continued to overshadow efforts to aid disaster victims.

Ellen Nakashima, Banda Aceh – An Islamic cleric and political organizer, Azmi Fajri Usman, pulled up at a camp of about 200 tsunami survivors stranded in a city park.

"Asalaam alaikum!" Peace be with you, he said, hopping off his motorbike and approaching a few of the survivors as the sun neared its zenith Wednesday. "Is there anyone here who's organized the place?"

Marianne Kearney, Darussalam – Dozens of Muslim and Christian groups are exploiting the chaos wrought by the tsunami in the Indonesian province of Aceh to spread their message and compete for influence, secular aid workers said yesterday.