The Indonesian military has denied that three battalions of troops being pulled out of Aceh province will be deployed to Papua.
The Xinhua News Agency reports that the TNI has pulled out the battalions from Aceh as part of its commitment to the peace deal signed between the Indonesian government and Aceh rebels this month.
General commander General Endriartono Sutarto says some 14,700 government organic troops would gradually leave Aceh by the end of the year.
He says that the troops would not be deployed to Papua, despite recent reports of a mass build-up of TNI numbers in the province.
