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MOBIL FACILITIES ATTACKED

Date Reported: Tuesday, April 25, 2000
Incident Type: SECURITY
Country: LHOKSUKON, INDONESIA

Incident: The daily Serambi (Banda Aceh) has reported that five outposts of the Mobil Oil Indonesia (MOI) complex came under attack from armed insurgents in the area of Lhokseumawe-Lhoksukon in Aceh Province. The incidents occurred between 12:30-1:30AM; 12 explosions were heard, some from as far away as two kilometers. An eye-witness said one of the attacks was carried out by a force of ten individuals, all wearing striped fatigues and full face masks.

The five outposts that came under attack were located in four villages in the sub-districts of Tanah Luas, Matangkuli, and Lhoksukon. According to Indonesian security officials, the attacks were well-planned and coordinated. Post-incident investigation of the attack sites disclosed the following sequence of events:

The first incident, at 12:30 AM consisted of an attack by fire with rifle grenades or rockets against the Cluster IV gas tank complex in the village of Meuria, Matangkuli Sub-District. The fired projectiles reached their target area, but inflicted no damage.

The second incident, fifteen minutes later, occurred against the Point A-1 Cluster III tower in the village of Rangkaya, Tanah Luas Sub-District. Several detonations were heard, and the tower was burnt so that only the steel framework remained. The assault group had breached the barbed wire perimeter to reach their objective. An unexploded improvised mine or bomb was later found at the site by investigators.

The third and fourth incidents occurred against a guardhouse protecting the GIW-13 storage site for mining explosives, and a temporary post (nfi) about 100 meters away, also in Tanah Luas Sub-District. According to an Indonesian military spokesman, ten armed men appeared at the sites, and chased away two security guards. The intruders then set fire to the two buildings, after throwing kerosene or oil on them to start the flames. The temporary post was burnt to the ground; the main guardhouse was scorched, but escaped serious damage.

The fifth incident consisted of a rocket grenade attack launched against Bachelor Camp, a housing facility, in the village of Alue Drien, Landing, in Lhoksukon Sub-District. There was no word on damages.

None of the incidents caused personnel injuries. However, an MOI spokeswoman said that the repeated attacks against the company's complex had made some employees afraid of coming to work. According to a media source, perimeter security for the MOI complex is provided by a reinforced company (150 persons) of a military air defense battalion, whose headquarters are in Medan. This complement is backed up by a local force of 267 security guards on site.