At least 13 people have been killed in the strife-torn Indonesian province of Aceh ahead of a visit by President Abdurrahman Wahid, residents and police said Sunday.
As the Indonesian army began a massive security operation involving 5,000 troops to ensure Wahid's safety when he arrives Tuesday, residents and police said the latest unrest had seen four men shot dead and the discovery of nine bodies, some mutilated.
A soldier was shot dead in an ambush on a truck carrying troops in Jaya sub-district in West Aceh shortly after noon Sunday, Aceh police spokesman Senior Superintendent Kusbini Imbar said.
Three other soldiers were injured, including one in critical condition. The wounded were airlifted to a hospital in Banda Aceh.
Five badly maimed corpses, all men, were found lined up on the side of the road in Blang Kubu in the district of Bireun on Saturday, spreading fear through the local population, a journalist said.
The identities of the victims were unknown. Some of the bodies had gunshot wounds, the reporter said.
The bodies of four other men were also found in south Aceh, a resident said by telephone from the town of Tapaktuan. Two were found in a ravine in Alur Naga mountain near Tapaktuan. Relatives said the pair had last been seen on Thursday.
Elsewhere two young men were shot dead by soldiers patrolling the village of Simpang Rawa Itiek in northern Aceh on Saturday evening.
Residents said the two were shopping ahead of festivities marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. But police Chief Superintendent Wanto Sumardi said they were part of a group of armed men who attacked the patrol.
Finally, on Saturday a roadside coffee stall owner was killed in Kutabaru in a shooting residents attributed to security forces hunting rebels after a separatist attack earlier in the day.
The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been fighting since the mid-1970s for an independent Islamic state on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
More than 800 people have died this year in violence related to clashes between the GAM and government troops despite a shaky truce which has been in force since June.
Pressure for a vote on self-rule has intensified since East Timor's breakaway from Indonesia last year after a UN-conducted ballot on self determination.
Jakarta has ruled out independence but pledged broad autonomy. Wahid is visiting to oversee the implementation of Islamic Sharia law, seen as a concession to the staunchly Muslim separatists.
Military commander Colonel Syarifuddin Tippe said a total of 5,000 security personnel will be deployed to secure the safety of the president during his trip.
"We are not taking any risks, not even the smallest," Tippe said. He added there were strong indications that students would hold a protest rally during the visit.
At least 3,000 policemen and soldiers held a roll call in Banda Aceh, the capital of the province, in full view of the public so as to underline the armed forces' strength in numbers.
Later on Sunday armed policemen could also be seen, mostly in pairs, in and around the Baitulrahman main mosque, which Wahid is scheduled to visit to inaugurate Sharia law. Elsewhere in the city, security was lax -- BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AFP)
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