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3 gunmen killed in shootout with Indonesian police in Aceh

Indonesian police stand guard to secure the area around Kerobokan prison in Denpasar on Bali island on March 4, 2015. (AFP photo)

Indonesian security forces have shot dead at least three gunmen during a series of violent clashes in the westernmost province of Aceh, officials say.  

Muhajir, a regional police chief, said on Thursday that the fierce firefight took place just before midnight Wednesday in Pidie, a district east of the Acehnese capital Banda Aceh. 

The battle started after around a dozen gunmen opened fire on police and military officers as they started chasing the group, he added.  

The official noted that the battle lasted about an hour until the remaining members of the armed group fled on foot. 

Security forces reportedly managed to seize a large amount of arms and ammunition from the three victims. 

Police say they have cordoned off the area and launched a massive manhunt across the area. Additional forces have been deployed in the region in order to prevent any further violence. 

The incident is the latest flare-up of violence in the region, where armed rebels have been waging an insurgency against the Jakarta government for decades. 

Sporadic clashes between armed groups and security forces are not uncommon in the restive province. 

Aceh was once mired in civil war for three decades as rebels fighting against the central government launched a bloody struggle for an independent state,  

The deadly conflict had left at least 15,000 people dead – mostly civilians – and the troubled region with barely any functioning infrastructure. 

A peace treaty was signed in August 2005 after a massive tsunami devastated the poverty-stricken province in 2004.

JR/KA/HMV


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