Indonesia military aircraft attacked

Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia — An Indonesian air force transport plane was in flames after being hit by ground fire Thursday as it was landing at an airport in separatist-wracked Aceh province, a military spokesman said.

The Hercules C-130 was burning on the runway, Maj. Zainal Mataquin said.

"I think there are victims," he said, adding that it was not immediately clear how many people were on board.

The aircraft was coming in to land at Lhokseumawe, a town in northeastern Aceh that is the center of the province’s natural gas industry.

Last December, a commuter plane chartered by U.S.-based energy giant Exxon Mobil, which operates a natural gas plant near Lhokseumawe, was hit by gunfire during its final approach, forcing it to abort a landing at the airport.

At the time, townspeople blamed undisciplined soldiers for opening fire as the plane was about to touch down. But the army, which has a long history of human rights abuses in the region, said guerrillas staged the attack.

Separatists have been battling for an independent homeland in the oil and natural gas-rich region on the northern tip of Sumatra, 1,100 miles northwest of Jakarta, since 1976. Thousands have been killed, including more than 1,300 this year.

Earlier Thursday, Mataquin said that seven people died in renewed fighting between government troops and rebels of the Free Aceh Movement during the past two days.

Three were members of the security forces, and the others were rebels, he said.

Mataquin did not provide further details. A spokesman for the insurgents was not available for comment.

Last year, the government and the insurgents entered into a series of cease-fire agreements. However, these deals fell through and efforts to hold further peace talks collapsed when security forces arrested rebel negotiators.

Indonesia’s new president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, has vowed to crush separatist rebellions in Aceh and other restive provinces. But few analysts believe the military has the ability to stamp out the insurgencies.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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