Indonesian forces hunted rebels in jungle and villages across Aceh today as their officers considered imposing night curfews on flashpoints in the province.
The military said it had killed four separatists overnight, taking the total since Monday to 12. It added that a district rebel commander had surrendered yesterday, the second senior separatist to do so in a week.
The military, which began its biggest offensive in decades on Monday following the collapse of peace talks in Tokyo, said it was considering clamping curfews on Pidie and Bireun districts, both separatist strongholds.
"Violence has risen in both those places. It would make it easier for our operations . . . to impose a curfew," said Mr Firdaus Komarno, military spokesman in the oil and gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
A spokesman for the Free Aceh Movement, which began fighting for independence in 1976, insisted no separatists had been killed and accused the military of murdering nearly 50 civilians. The military denied killing non-combatants.
In Jakarta, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda went on the defensive in the face of international concern, telling foreign envoys Indonesia's territorial integrity was at stake.