Concert Bombed In Indonesia

A powerful bomb during a concert at a crowded night market killed 10 New Year's Eve revelers, including three children, and injured 45 in Indonesia's restive Aceh province, a doctor and other witnesses said Thursday.

Indonesia's military blamed the bombing on the region's separatist rebels, who denied the allegation.

The bomb ripped through the crowd three hours before midnight at the market in the remote eastern Aceh town of Pereulak, said Omar Rusdi, a physician who treated the dead and injured.

Many of the victims were teenagers and children, including two girls ages 1 and 4 and a 7-year-old boy, hospital workers said.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki blamed guerrillas who've been fighting a 27-year war against government forces for Aceh's independence.

"It was a powerful bomb," he said. "The rebels always do such (acts). There is no one else who can do that. Pereulak is a rebel stronghold."

However, spokesman Sofyan Dawood of the Free Aceh Movement denied the rebels were responsible, saying: "The party was organized by the military. They lured people to go there. We have never staged an attack to kill our own people."

The blast appeared to have come from a bomb planted under a stage where musicians were playing, said Yusuf Puteh, a volunteer at a local human rights center.

It was the bloodiest bombing in Aceh since the government on May 19 abandoned a six-month truce and launched a massive military offensive against the rebels, who want independence for their oil- and gas-rich province.

One victim, Zulkifli, said the band had sung several songs when the bomb blew up on one side of the stage.

"The three girls were singing up there when there was a huge blast. I saw six people die in front of me. Blood was trickling down my legs," said Zulkifli, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name. "Dozens of people were running in panic."

In her annual New Year's Eve speech, shortly before the bombing, President Megawati Sukarnoputri declared the offensive against the rebels "successful."

"We have succeeded in calming down many upheavals and conflicts among ethnic groups ... in several regions, which have almost torn apart our nation," she said in the speech, broadcast on state-run television station TVRI.

In apparent reference to Aceh, Megawati said: "Even if it is painful, we had to take harsh measures and we have successfully curtailed the movement, which is trying to separate from Indonesia."

The military claims it has killed more than 1,300 suspected rebels since the latest crackdown began, while losing 50 soldiers and 16 police officers.

The rebels say most of those killed have been civilians.

Police say about 500 civilians have been killed.

The rebels launched their independence bid in 1976 after Jakarta refused to give the province increased autonomy. About 12,000 people have died in the conflict, and repeated efforts to forge a peace deal have collapsed amid mutual distrust.

By Lely T. Djuhari