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TNI officers involved in attack on Brimob post in Aceh arrested

Tempo Interactive - November 27, 2004

Imran MA, Jakarta – As many as 25 TNI (armed forces) officers from the Karma Bhakti Infantry Battalion, Rifle Company B in East Aceh have been found to have violated the code of discipline. They have been in detention at the Iskandar Muda military headquarters in Lhokseumawe since Friday November 26.

The TNI officers under arrest have been connected with an attack by around 30 TNI officers from the battalion on a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) post in the village of Seuneubok Bace in the Idi Rayeuk sub-district of East Aceh on Thursday November 25. The attack left one Brimob officer dead and three others wounded.

The arrests were made after the commander of Lilawangsa 001 Sub-regency Military Command (Korem), Colonel Azmin Yusri Nasution and a number of ranking TNI officers from Korem arrived at the location where the incident occurred. "I have taken steps against my officers who are at fault, they were taken directly to Lhokseumawe and put in jail. I jailed the lot of them", Nasution told journalists.

Nasution said that the 25 officers had acted outside of the code of discipline although the seriousness of the violations and the exact involvement of the officers is not yet known. "If during the investigation they are proven to be at fault, I won't hesitate to dismiss them", said Nasution.

With regard to the reasons behind the attack, Nasution was reluctant to say much other than that the incident occurred because of a misunderstanding.

[Translated by James Balowski.]
 

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