Jakarta – The Indonesian military has rescued 124 people taken hostage by separatist rebels in Aceh province since the start of a military offensive last year but 260 civilians are still detained, a report said Monday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government will soon re-evaluate whether it is necessary to maintain martial law in the war-torn province of Aceh, a senior cabinet minister said Monday.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military has reduced separatist rebel strength in Aceh by 60 percent, the province's martial law commander said Monday as the army claimed the deaths of 22 suspected rebels.

"What's clear, it's estimated that their strength has been greatly reduced... to around 40 percent," Major General Endang Suwarya said told a Jakarta radio station.

Banda Aceh – The military shot dead two separatist rebels and a government soldier died in a hostage crisis in restive Aceh province, the military and witnesses said on Saturday.

Alisa P, Bireun – An Aceh Ulama (Islamic religious leader), Teuku Haji Aldelani, the son-in-law of the most outspoken Ulama in Aceh, T.H. Abu Tuming, has been arrested by the emergency military command (PDMD) for leading a delegation of Aceh Ulamas to meet with the coordinating minister of politics and security in Jakarta a short time ago.

Miswar, Banda Aceh – The tabloid Beudoh, which was closed by the Aceh emergency military command (PDMD) because it ran an lead article titled "Acehnese People Don't Need Elections Under Martial Law", the result of which being that Beudoh's editor was ordered to report to the PDMD [and threatened if the tabloid did not change is editorial line].

Banda Aceh – At least six people, including four separatist rebels, were killed in the latest violence in the restive province of Aceh, the military said Friday.

M. Arbi, Tapaktuan – After the people of Abdya voiced their demands for an extension to martial law in Aceh, on Tuesday April 13 the same demands were echoed by the people of South Aceh. Thousands of people spilled into the grounds of the regional parliament building in the town of Tapaktuan to listen to speeches by public figures demanding that martial law in Aceh be extended.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Police on Tuesday arrested six suspects they said were part of a network of Aceh separatists involved in an abortive attempt to bomb a mall here last month.

Officers were hunting down two more suspects believed to be the masterminds of the bombing attempt, police said.

Alisa P., Jakarta – Martial law in Aceh has entered its 10th month, and has consumed huge numbers of civilian casualties.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – The martial law administration in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam opened a "reeducation" course on Sunday for 190 men and 10 women who have been accused of membership of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Lhokseumawe – The military killed on Sunday Suhardi Sulaiman, 33, alias Adi P., who has been listed as the most wanted rebel figure in Bireuen.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian soldiers have shot dead five separatist rebels in Aceh while six others have surrendered to the authorities, the military said on Sunday.

The five Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members were killed on Friday in separate clashes in South Aceh, Bireuen and North Aceh districts, provincial military spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari said.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian soldiers have shot dead eight separatist rebels in Aceh and seized weapons, the military said on Thursday.

Four Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members were killed Tuesday and four more Wednesday in separate clashes, said provincial military spokesman Lt. Col. Asep Sapari. Soldiers seized two rifles and ammunition on Wednesday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Several local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reported vote buying on Tuesday allegedly committed by political parties ahead of the April 5 poll.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Ministry of Forestry is demanding an objective investigation into the recent arrest of environmentalist Bestari Raden, 50, after the Aceh martial law administration accused him of involvement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Banda Aceh/Jayapura/Ambon – Violence marred polling day on Monday in several parts of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam in an apparent attempt to disrupt the election, while people cast their votes peacefully in three other troubled areas of Poso, Papua and Maluku.

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A number of arrests of Acehnese activists across the country for their alleged link with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has raised questions among observers over the performance of the Aceh martial law administration.

His name is Ayus Rizal, 13. He is the youngest Acehnese resident currently undergoing training at the military camp for former separatist rebels in Reuleut village, North Aceh.

He once became a chantoi (civilian recruited by GAM as an undercover agent to spy on the rebels' enemies) and was tasked with finding supplies, such as rice or cigarettes, for his commanders.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's parliamentary elections on Monday have been enthusiastically awaited by the majority of the country's voters. Far in the north, in the troubled province of Aceh, however, the democratic festivities are seen as a dilemma by most people.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in Aceh province have threatened to shoot or fine residents who vote in Monday's Indonesian general elections, an election monitor said Saturday.

Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – The Aceh military has set up security arrangements to enable local residents in areas known as rebel strongholds to exercise their right to vote on April 5.

Jakarta – The Malaysian government is forcibly returning Indonesian refugees from Aceh province to Indonesia where their safety is at risk amid a continuing conflict there, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday.

An environmentalist arrested in Indonesia's Aceh province is at serious risk of torture by the military, Amnesty International said. It said Bestari Raden, 55, was said to be undergoing intensive interrogation.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The arrest of Acehnese environmentalist Bestari Raden has drawn strong criticism from rights activists and a sociologist, who see the move as part of systematic attempts to silence those critical to government policies in the troubled province.

James Balowski, Jakarta – The government of Megawati Sukarnoputri declared martial law in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh last May. It launched an "integrated operation" to smash the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and restore "law and order".

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – As many as 52 villages in war-torn Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam may skip the elections due to the unfavorable security situation there, a senior Cabinet minister said on Monday.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – The Aceh martial law administration has arrested an environmental activist for alleged involvement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), sparking protests from his lawyer.

Bestari Raden, 50, was arrested in the Southeast Aceh last Friday, when he visited the area to evaluate the feasibility of a controversial highway project there.

Nezar Patria, Kuala Lumpur – A wooden boat stealthily approached a beach near Port Klang in Malaysia at the end of last February. As night descended upon the quiet coastline, the thin fog and the light drizzle seemed to be offering a reassuring sense of peace and security to Hamdun (not his real name).

A barbed-wire fence and steel gate stand in the way of Fatimah Ali (not her real name) in Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

East Aceh – Seven members of the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and two Indonesian soldiers were killed on Friday after an armed clash on Tateh mountain in East Aceh regency. The two dead soldiers are First Pvt. Heroik and First Pvt. Hartono, both from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus).

Jakarta, Kompas – The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) is of the view that law enforcement in Aceh since a state of martial law was declared is not working.

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – The elections in Aceh will not be delayed, but its implementation will be dependent on the security situation. There are fears however that the elections in Aceh will not be conducted in a democratic manner.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – The situation in Aceh Nanggroe Darussalam at present is calmer than it has been in recent months, but it is not really very different from other days aside from the thousands of party flags fluttering in Banda Aceh during the political campaign period.

Jakarta – Indonesia has increased restrictions on foreign journalists trying to visit war torn Aceh province ahead of April parliamentary elections, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

Jakarta – A court in Indonesia's Aceh province on Tuesday jailed a former separatist rebel ceasefire negotiator for two years for subversion.

Judge Erry Mustanto said Alfi Shahril Fil bin Syafruddin, 26, was guilty of plotting to secede from Indonesia, the state Antara news agency reported.

Banda Aceh – Government troops shot dead two suspected separatists in more clashes in restive Aceh province, the military said Monday, while accusing the rebels of killing a teenaged girl.

The suspected Free Aceh ovement (GAM) rebels were shot dead during a clash Saturday in Pasi Merapa, South Aceh district, Capt. Chandra said.

Jakarta – Indonesian police tortured imprisoned rebels from Aceh province to warn them that they must confess to terrorist attacks when they are interviewed by visiting Swedish investigators, a spokesman for the guerrillas said Friday.

Banda Aceh – The Indonesian military said Thursday it had shot dead a key figure in the self-styled government proclaimed by separatist rebels in Aceh province.

Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province urged Acehnese on Wednesday to vote in next month's elections and said they would not try to disrupt the polls.

Ishak Daud, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) operations commander in East Aceh, said the security presence is so intense that he expects all electors will cast ballots to avoid physical reprisals.

A pro-independence group in Indonesia's Aceh province has accused police and troops of intimidation and violence in the run-up to the general election on April 5.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – A joint monitoring team will begin immediately to inspect humanitarian projects carried out by the martial law administrator and Aceh provincial government since the implementation of martial law in the troubled province.

Banda Aceh – Military authorities in Aceh on Thursday banned foreign observers from monitoring next month's general elections in 453 so-called "black areas" in the war-torn province due to security concerns.

Yuswardi A. Suud, Banda Aceh – The Aceh emergency military command (PDMD) will prohibit foreign observers from monitoring the elections in locations which are categorised as hot spots (black zones) – areas classified as being a significant security risk. They will only given permission to observers to monitor the elections in a number of pre-determined sub-districts.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights' (Komnas HAM) ad hoc team for Aceh has found indications of gross human rights violations in Aceh, most of which were committed by military members.

Teuku Agam Muzakir, Lhokseumawe – The martial law administration in Aceh will deploy all of its forces to ensure the upcoming general election will be a success in the province, a military official said on Monday.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Denpasar – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has stressed the importance of enhancing security in Aceh during the election campaign beginning on March 11, a decisive factor in evaluating the progress the government has made under the martial law in the province that could end in May.

Jakarta – Rebels in Indonesia's Aceh are still a major security threat despite a 10-month-old military offensive, an army spokesman said on Monday, a day after the president expressed hope martial law could soon be lifted.

Jakarta, Kompas – General elections in Aceh will be held under a state of martial law and hundreds of foreign observers will monitor the elections in Aceh. Responding to this, the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) Aceh Monitoring Team has asked the emergency military command (PDMD) in Aceh to restrict the total number and movements of foreign election observers.

Zainal Bakri, Lhokseumawe – The National Elections Commission (KPU) in Aceh has stated that as of Saturday afternoon, March 6, no foreign election observers – either organisations or individuals – have arrived in Aceh. This is despite the fact that the election campaign will begin on March 11.