LHOKSEUMAWE, (Indonesia) May 4: Troops on Tuesday patrolled towns in a northwestern Indonesian province where separatists are active, one day after soldiers shot and killed as many as 23 villagers, reports AP.

The shooting Monday in Pulo Rungkom village was one of the deadliest incidents in recent years in Aceh province, where the military has long been accused of human rights abuses during operations against a small band of pro-independence rebels.

The violence came one month before nationwide parliamentary elections that are viewed as a big test of Indonesia's transition to democracy following the downfall last year of authoritarian President Suharto.

However, separatists who want an Islamic state in Aceh have urged a boycott of the election. Many residents are bitter toward the central government, which is also perceived as a greedy exploiter of the natural resources of the oil-rich province.

In Pulo Rungkom. the trouble started after hundreds of troops arrived to demand that residents release a soldier who

had been abducted over the weekend. They were met by thousands of villagers, some of them armed with sticks.

After tense negotiations, the shooting began. Witnesses and local reporters said soldiers fired on unarmed residents, including women and children. "God is greatl" protesters shouted as they ran for cover.

In a statement, military spokesman Maj Gen Symsul Ma'arif disputed that account, saying civilians in the crowd opened fire first and that troops shot back in self-defence.

Dr Mulya, head of the state hospital in nearby Lhokseu-mawe City, said on Tuesday that 23 people died and that more than 50 injured people had been treated in his hospital alone.

The military confirmed that 18 people died and 81 were injured.

Some shops in Lhokseu-mawe, the site of anti-military riots in the past year, were closed as fearful storeowners stayed home. Truckloads of police and soldiers drove through the streets of the city. 1.750 kilometers northwest of Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.