THEY struggled to bury the dead and desperate residents looted shops on the Indonesian island of Sumatra yesterday, where the earthquake and tsunamis killed up to 25,000 people.

SWATHES of coast were stripped of life in the isolated west of Indonesia’s Aceh, with reports of starvation and looting doing little to alleviate fears for areas from where there was only silence.

Aid agencies all over the world prepared today for what the United Nations said would be the biggest relief effort in history, following the Asian earthquake disaster that killed thousands upon thousands.

INDONESIA has told foreign aid workers to leave troubled Aceh for security reasons and says Jakarta wants to take over all humanitarian assistance in the province.

INDONESIA plans to step up a military offensive against separatist rebels in Aceh a week after declaring martial law in the province and sending in thousands of troops.