BANDA ACEH, May 20: Indonesia’s military chief ordered his men on Tuesday to “exterminate” Aceh separatist guerillas if they refuse to surrender as a major offensive in the province went into its second day.

“Hunt them down and exterminate them,” Gen Endriartono Sutarto ordered around 400 officers at a briefing in this provincial capital.

Indonesia has launched its biggest military operation since the 1975 action in East Timor in an attempt to finish off the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Thousands of troops, backed up by aircraft and warships, are taking part.

No major clashes occurred on Tuesday, but education officials said 179 schools had been torched. The army blamed the rebels while GAM fingered military intelligence.

Gen Sutarto said rebels would be well treated if they surrender.

“But if they continue to be stubborn and raise arms, and continue to cause suffering to the people, then your sole duty is to exterminate them,” he said.

He ordered soldiers to avoid civilian casualties and said excesses against civilians would bring severe punishment.

“What you are doing here now is being broadcast all over the world,” the military chief told them.

“If there are soldiers who do violate (the order) and cause suffering to people in the field, then just shoot them in the head,” he told the officers.

The assault began on Monday, hours after last-ditch peace talks broke down in Tokyo. Hundreds of troops parachuted into the energy-rich province on Sumatra island or waded ashore from landing craft in the first deployment of reinforcements.

The military said an airborne battalion, normally around 600 men, arrived on Tuesday at Takengon airport, in central Aceh. It said resistance so far was lighter than expected.

Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Yani Basuki said seven rebels had been arrested and five were killed on Monday.

Basuki said one soldier was injured in a brief clash in Bireuen district on Tuesday. There were no casualty reports after another gunfight in the same district.

The spokesman said troops are putting pressure on rebel positions in the Bireuen area west of Lhokseumawe city. “Because of these pressures, GAM is trying to shift the focus of attention by burning schools.

“Troops are hunting down GAM personnel but they are also trying to narrow the space for the rebels and herd them away from the population,” he said.

The deputy chief of the Aceh education office, Anaz Muhammad Adam, said 179 schools had been set ablaze — including 78 in Bireuen and 74 in Pidie.

School burnings have been common in the past. The army says GAM sees such schools as an imposition of the Indonesian education system, but the rebels denied responsibility.

“Those are part of counter-intelligence operations to corner GAM. GAM has no business burning schools,” said spokesman Sofyan Dawood.

Officials said there were 28,000 soldiers or marines in Aceh plus 8,000 regular police and 2,000 paramilitary police. Basuki declined to update the figure.

They are facing off against some 5,000 guerillas with 2,000 light weapons.

An estimated 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the conflict since 1976. The most recent peace pact had lasted only since Dec 9.

The military said the assault, which was ordered after GAM refused to drop its demand for independence, could last months and might involve aerial and naval gunfire against rebel bases.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri’s decision to take military action is highly popular with the powerful military and many Indonesians. It sparked dismay overseas.

The US State Department said force could not solve the problem and called for a return to negotiations. Australia and other countries made similar pleas. —AFP