Exxon halts activities in troubled Aceh

Giant American oil company Exxon-Oil or formerly known as PT Mobil Oil Indonesia has temporarily halted exploration and administrative activities in Ache due to rising concerns over security.

The Jakarta Post daily quoted company sources as saying that several of the more than 2,000 workers at the company's headquarters in Lhoksukon, an industrial regency in North Aceh located some 32 kilometers east of Lhokseumawe, would temporarily stay home until the situation improved.

Some employees reportedly received threats, including anonymous telephone calls warning their housing complexes would be burned down.

The company's compounds in Matangkuli and Lhoksukon have been the target of arson and bomb attacks in the past few weeks.

The situation in the province remains tense as violence continues on a daily basis. (*)