Indonesia to try Aceh soldiers

There are concerns for the safety of Acehnese civilians

At least four Indonesian soldiers are due to go on trial this week, accused of mistreating civilians during the military's ongoing offensive in the province of Aceh.

Brigadier General Bambang Darmono said on Monday that the soldiers were to be tried for allegedly beating up villagers in Lawang in Bireun district on 27 May.

This is the first time that Indonesia's military has acknowledged the possibility that its troops might have committed human rights abuses during the two-week-old campaign.

Gam and Aceh villagers have accused the army of perpetrating a number of atrocities against civilians, and the military has a poor human rights record in the province.

But the army has repeatedly denied the accusations, arguing that it never targets the civilian population.

Indonesia launched its offensive in Aceh on 19 May, to crush separatist rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (Gam) after the collapse of a five-month ceasefire agreement.

Up to 40,000 Indonesian troops are confronting 5,000 Gam rebels in the province, which has been the scene of separatist fighting since 1976.

Fighting continued in the province on Monday. Soldiers killed four rebels during a gun battle near the Gam stronghold of Pidie, Lieutenant Colonel Supartodi told the Associated Press.

A soldier is also said to have died in the fighting.

The military has said it has shot more than 100 rebels since the offensive began - a figure disputed by the rebels, who have claimed that many of the dead are civilians.

But armed forces chief General Endriartono Sutarto told the French news agency AFP that civilian casualties were "only about 20 or so, and they are mostly people deemed to be collaborators of the military".

Also on Monday, Indonesia's Defence Minister Abdul Djalil announced his intention to reduce ties with Sweden, after Stockholm rejected Jakarta's demands for the extradition of Gam leaders in exile there.

Sweden has refused repeated requests to send the rebel leaders to be questioned in Jakarta, according to Reuters news agency.

"We cannot react before we have any evidence that these Gam people have done anything illegal," Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Lars-Olof Lundberg said at the weekend.

Civilian safety

Since the conflict began two weeks ago, there have been mounting concerns for the safety of Aceh's 4.3m civilian population.

On Friday, United Nations chief Kofi Annan called for the Indonesian Government to protect civilians caught up in the fighting.

The Acehnese people have also seen the prices of staple foods increase dramatically since the crackdown began, with trucks carrying food supplies being attacked en route to the province.

More than 21,000 people are reported to have fled their homes as a result of the violence, especially in eastern areas which have been experiencing heavy gunfights almost every day.