24 dead in Indonesia as peace talks start

President Abdurrahman Wahid, left, is greeted by Armed Forces Chief Adm. Widodo Adisucipto, right, upon his return in Jakarta

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia -- Fighting in Indonesia's Aceh province left at least 24 people dead as government officials and rebel negotiators met Saturday in Switzerland for peace talks.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Firdaus said 20 separatist guerillas had been killed in a gun battle on Friday in central Aceh.

He said the clash occurred after soldiers ambushed a group of rebels who tried to attack some villages near the town of Takengon, about 1,700 kilometers (1,060 miles) northwest of Jakarta.

However, rebel spokesman Wein Rimbe said only four of the victims were insurgents while the rest were villagers, including several children, who were shot by security forces while sheltering in a house.

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He said the killings were the worst massacre of civilians in Aceh since security forces shot to death 56 students in 1999.

Military commander Lt. Col. Rochana Herdianto said all the victims were immediately buried where they were killed.

He would not comment on the rebel allegations.

Earlier, Firdaus said two rebels were killed and two others were arrested after a shootout in eastern Aceh on Thursday.

Also Thursday, villagers found the bodies of two civilians shot dead in northern Aceh, said Mahyudin, an official with the Indonesian Red Cross.

The two sides entered into a truce last year. However, it collapsed in February amid escalating violence.

The latest deaths bring to at least 842 the number of people killed in Aceh this year.

The rebel Free Aceh Movement has been fighting for an independent homeland on the northern tip of Sumatra island, about 1,750 kilometers (1,100 miles) northwest of Jakarta, for 26 years.

The bloodshed came as government officials began two days of peace talks with rebel negotiators in Switzerland. The Geneva-based Henry Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue is mediating the talks in a secret location.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.