Thursday, September 02, 2010 22:29 PM
Follow us on
Follow us on
Police in Aceh are continuing to track down the remaining members of an armed group believed to be
terrorists.
The manhunt has expanded from the forests in Aceh Besar regency to public places in major cities, including provincial capital Banda Aceh.
“I saw several police personnel in full gear on standby around the park,” local resident Laila said during a visit to Banda Aceh’s Taman Sari park.
She added the heightened security presence was reminiscent of the time the military imposed martial law across the province in a bid to crack down on the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), prior to the December 2004 tsunami.
The secessionist movement has since been quelled, following a peace deal with the central government, but other security threats
still loom.
“This whole security situation is a major concern,” Laila said.
“People are worried Aceh might fall back into the olden days.”
Besides patrols in urban areas, security authorities have also set up roadblocks along the main highway linking Aceh to North Sumatra, to try to prevent members of the armed group fleeing the province.
“People are worried Aceh might fall back into the olden days.”
Police are stopping public buses and private cars leaving Aceh, and checking the passengers and their ID documents.
The heightened security presence follows last week’s raid on a train-ing camp in the Jalin forest in Jantho, Aceh Besar, in which three terror suspects were killed and 21 arrested.
On Tuesday, another three suspects were shot dead in Pamulang, Tangerang, just outside Jakarta. They were believed to have provided financial support to the training camp in Aceh.
The increased security has resulted in a drastic drop in traffic in much of Aceh.
“Most people avoid traveling by public transportation at night unless they absolutely have to,” said Azhari, a bus driver plying the Banda Aceh–Medan route.
Police personnel, assisted by the force’s Detachment 88 counterterrorism squad, are scouring areas where the armed group may have sought refuge.
The manhunt is currently focused at the foot of Mount Seulawah, Padang Tiji and Pidie. Police believe the group has fled and gone into hiding in Pidie, bordering Aceh Besar, where members of the group were first found.
In one of the raids on the group in the Lamkabeu forest in Seulimun, Banda Aceh, three policemen and one suspected terrorist were killed.
