THE sounds of gunshots never seem to cease there. In Bireuen, 218 kilometers from Banda Aceh, children can already tell the type of weapon fired from the sound of its discharge. This region of 300,000 people has been familiar with war long before the Indonesian Military (TNI) began its military operations a month ago.

Consisting of seven districts and 516 villages and subdistricts, Bireuen Regency covers some 1,900 square kilometers, situate