Gunfire breaks out near U.N. aid center
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, January 8, 2005
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – Suspected rebels fired shots early today at the home of a top police official near the United Nations’ relief headquarters in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian city of Banda Aceh, officials said. No casualties were reported.
Members of the Free Aceh Movement, which has been fighting for an independent homeland in the province of Aceh for more than 20 years, fired at officers guarding the home of the deputy provincial police chief, about 100 yards from the U.N. building, police Sgt. Bambang Hariyanpo said.
Police returned fire but the rebels vanished into the city, he said, adding authorities were investigating the incident. It was not known how many rebels were involved.
Police and U.N. officials said the relief headquarters was not the target of the shooting, but the attack underscored concerns about security during the relief effort in Aceh, which was devastated by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami.
A truckload of soldiers arrived outside the building shortly after the automatic gunfire was heard, a U.N. staffer said.
The Free Aceh rebels have been fighting a low-level war against Indonesian troops for an independent homeland in Aceh for more than two decades. They declared a unilateral cease-fire and the military said it would not target suspected rebels during the emergency, but clashes have broken out in recent days.
