2 armed civilians killed in firefight in Aceh Jaya

Two armed civilians were killed following a firefight with police in the village of Lhok Guci, Pasie Raya, Aceh Jaya, Sumatran province of Aceh early Saturday morning.

In the firefight at a location about 50 kilometer from the town of Calang, the two civilians were hit in the chest, hand and body, Aceh Jaya resort police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Riza Yulianto said.

"Initially we received information from the community in the sub-district of Pasi Raya that a villager had been entrusted to repair a modified air gun. The information was then developed," he said.

The two who were killed in the firefight were Maimum (29) alias Abu Rimba, who had so far been wanted by the police, and his accomplice Zulfarzan (29), who is called Doyok.

The police confiscated a self-made AK 47, two modified air guns, a revolver replica, 26 AK 47 bullets and casings, he said.

The gunfight occurred around 15 meters away between the armed civilians and police officers who had tracked them down after monitoring the persons hiding in a hut belonging to a villager. They also fired warning shots asking them to surrender.

"They hid in one of the huts belonging to the villagers. At 5.30 a.m. we raided them and that led to a firefight for about 15 minutes," he said.

The two were identified following the arrest of Abu Rimba Cobra (35) some time ago in Teunom sub-district after police shot him in the leg.

Abu Rimba Cobra only had two men and so with the deaths of his two men it was hoped no more armed civilians from the group would be found in Aceh Jaya, Yulianto said.

Regarding claim that Abu Rimba Cobra was a member of Din Minimi group and that he had a lot of men, Yulianto said that it was a mere propaganda.

"There are no armed groups left in Aceh Jaya," he assured.

The body of Maimun has been handed over to his family after an autopsy was done while that of Doyok was still kept awaiting confirmation about its identity from his family, he said.

Din Minimi has recently surrendered to the authorities.

Source: ANTARA