The Indonesian government said today it would start withdrawing troops from Aceh in September as part of an agreement with rebels to end three decades of fighting that has killed 15,000 people.

Indonesia's government and Aceh rebels have reached a peace deal to end the 29-year insurgency in the tsunami-devastated province, a top Indonesian official said today.

A powerful 8.7-magnitude earthquake hammered Indonesia’s west coast, collapsing homes and burying sleeping residents inside and sparking panic across Indian Ocean countries still traumatised by the tsunami disaster three months ago. Death toll estimates varied widely, from about 200 to 10 times that number.

Indonesia’s tsunami death toll rose today by about 5,000 as workers continued burying victims in Aceh province as tourism chiefs gathered to discuss how to bring travellers back to ravaged Asian beaches.