26 killed after gun battles in Aceh

Two days of violence in Indonesia's Aceh province has left at least 26 people dead

Two days of violence in Indonesia's Aceh province has left at least 26 people dead. The latest deaths brings to 664 the number of people killed in Aceh this year.

Insurgents from the Free Aceh Movement have been fighting since 1975 for independence of their oil and gas-rich homeland.

Soldiers shot and killed nine rebels in a gun battle in southern Aceh, one army commander said.

In western Aceh, three unidentified bodies were found with bullet wounds in separate locations, while a fourth body was found in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, Indonesian Red Cross officials said.

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On Wednesday, two guerrillas and six villagers were killed in fighting between security forces and rebels in northern Aceh, said a spokesman for the insurgents, Soyfan Daud.

Human rights activist Muharizal Hasan said soldiers killed five civilians during a raid on a suspected rebel hide-out in Keulibeut village in northern Aceh, on Wednesday.

Police arrested four villagers, including three teachers, during the attack.

PA