At least 18 civilians were reportedly shot dead by...

At least 18 civilians were reportedly shot dead by Indonesian soldiers as government troops stepped up their operations against separatist rebels in Aceh province.
The BBC's Orlando de Guzman said that in one incident, at least eight villagers were shot dead in the eastern Bireun area.
He said he entered the village of Mapa Mamplam as Indonesian forces were leaving. He saw the bodies of four men with bullet wounds in the back of their heads. Eyewitnesses said they, and about four others, had been lined up and shot by the armed forces.
In another incident in the same area, a spokesman for the rebel Free Aceh Movement (Gam) told the Associated Press that 13 people, including 10 civilians, had been killed in the village of Cotrabu.
The military confirmed that an operation was under way in the area, but gave no details.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa told the BBC's East Asia Today programme that the Mapa Mamplam incident was "stories" aimed at discrediting Jakarta.
Indonesia's security operation in the province began on May 19 after talks with rebel negotiators broke down, shattering a five-month-old peace deal that had raised hopes of ending 26 years of violence.
The failed deal, signed in December 2002, offered Aceh an autonomous government by 2004, which would have been allowed to keep 70% of the revenue generated from the province's rich oil reserves.
Acehnese resentment against Jakarta's rule has been fuelled by abuses by the Indonesian military, and a feeling that the government is exploiting the region's resources.
After the talks broke down, the government declared martial law and announced an all-out military offensive against Gam. There are 28,000 Indonesian soldiers in Aceh, confronting 5,000 Gam fighters.
Indonesia's military chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, urged his forces to "hunt down and exterminate" the separatists.
"Chase them, destroy Gam," said General Sutarto. "Don't talk about it, just finish them off."