Fourteen bodies found in Indonesia

The bodies of 14 civilians have been found in Indonesia's Aceh province where separatists are battling for independence.

The bodies of 14 civilians have been found in Indonesia's Aceh province where separatists are battling for independence.

Human rights activist Mr Djuli said the bodies were found in five separate locations across the province, on the northern tip of Sumatra island yesterday.

"The bodies all had stab or bullet wounds," he said. The identities of the dead were not known.

Local police spokesman Lt Col Yatim Suyatmo confirmed the deaths and said officers were investigating.

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The latest killings came two days after Aceh's separatist rebels and the Indonesian government agreed to bolster security arrangements in an existing ceasefire.

Friday's violence brings the number of people killed this year in Aceh to at least 237, despite the formal cease-fire. Both sides agree the truce has been ineffective.

The rebels have been waging a bloody war of independence since 1975, in which at least 6,000 people have died during the past decade.

Aceh is one of several trouble spots in Indonesia where separatist, religious or ethnic violence threatens to tear the country apart. During the past two weeks, more than 450 Madurese settlers have been killed by Dayak natives on the Indonesian half of Borneo island.

About 16,000 Madurese refugees are still sheltering in a squalid camp in the Central Kalimantan town of Sampit, which has seen much of the worst violence.

PA