SBY says armed group in Aceh are terrorists

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said dozens of gunmen now surrounded by police in the Aceh regency of Aceh Besar are not part of the now defunct Free Aceh Movement separatist group, but a terror cell.

“This is a sleeping terror cell. I was told the group’s leaders are not Acehnese. Some of the members are from outside Aceh,” Yudhoyono was quoted as saying Friday by news portal kompas.com.

The president expressed surprise that the terror network had reached Aceh.

“I received reports that suddenly there were terrorist activities in Aceh. This is not the work of the former separatist group, but a well organized terror group.

“They chose Aceh as their training ground because they hoped that people did not consider Aceh a conflict area. They expected to catch us off guard so they can plot acts of terrorism,” the President said.

He warned that Indonesia was not free from terror threats, and asked the police, intelligence agency and the military to work together to prevent and preempt terror attacks.