Foreign aid workers ‘advised’ to leave Aceh

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.

The warning comes as Indonesia’s military announced plans to step up operations against separatist rebels which began eight days ago and have caused dozens of deaths, forced thousands of people to flee their homes and disrupted food distribution.

United Nations aid workers say they have not felt their security threatened by the offensive, but expected to abide by the order. “It didn’t directly say a ban, but we have been firmly advised that it would be better for us to cease our functions in Aceh for security purposes,” said Michael Elmquist, head of the UN’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).