Jakarta - Unidentified gunmen attacked the house of a former
rebel in Indonesia's Aceh province, killing his 4-year-old daughter
and seriously wounding the ex-separatist and his wife, police and
local media reports said Monday.
The incident occurred early Sunday when a group of about five
gunmen burst into the house of Badruddin, once a member of the
now-defunct Free Aceh Movement (GAM), spraying bullets at him and his
family as they slept, the Aceh-based Serambi daily newspaper reported.
Aceh, which lies of the northern tip of Sumatra Island, some 2,100
kilometres north-west of Jakarta, is in the midst of a fragile peace
process following nearly three decades of war between the Indonesian
military and GAM guerrillas. The province is simultaneously
rebuilding from the 2004 Asian Tsunami, which killed some 177,000
people in Aceh alone.
The attack occurred in Seunebok Baro village in Bireuen district.
The girl, Alfinurrahman, was sleeping with her parents and died
after being struck in the head by a bullet. Badruddin, 35, and his
wife, Ainal Mardiah, 30, suffered serious gunshot wounds in the
attack but survived.
Witnesses were quoted as saying that nearby residents heard a
series of gunshots, but only dared to venture out of their homes
after the attacked ended.
The residents founded the girl's bleeding body on the floor inside
the house, not far away from her parents, the news report said.
Badruddin and his wife were taken to hospital in Bireuen district
town but due to their serious conditions, were later transferred to a
better hospital in the city of Lhokseumawe in North Aceh district.
An official at the Bireuen district police office, who did not
want to be named, confirmed the shooting incident, but declined to
give further details, saying an investigation was 'now still
underway.'
It was the latest violence targeted at former rebels or their
supporters in recent weeks. Last month, an unidentified person tossed
a grenade into the yard of the former rebel leader's residence,
shattering windows but causing no injuries.
Under a peace agreement signed in August 2005, GAM agreed to stop
fighting and form a political party in return for amnesty and special
autonomy. In December 2006, a former GAM member was elected governor
in Aceh's first-ever direct poll.
However, suspicions between the military and GAM run deep, and
there are fears that provocateurs are attempting to scuttle the peace
agreement.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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