BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Mount Merapi smoulders

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Thursday, 20 April 2006, 14:44 GMT 15:44 UK

In pictures: Mount Merapi smoulders

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Farmers on the Indonesian island of Java are silhouetted against volcanic Mount Merapi, which has recently begun spewing smoke and ash.

Mount Merapi's crater

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The government has warned people living near the volcano to be prepared for an evacuation.

Evacuation drill

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Villagers pack a police vehicle in Sleman, near Mount Merapi, as they rehearse an emergency evacuation.

Villager carrying grass

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Those living in the shadow of the volcano are determined to stay on until the last possible moment.

Marijan, mountain gatekeeper

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Seventy-nine-year old Marijan is the "gatekeeper" of Mount Merapi - appointed by the nearby king to mediate with the spirits of the mountain.

Marjo, villager

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Marjo, from Turgo village, says he will always return to the area - despite having been injured when Mount Merapi last erupted, in 1994.

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