Simpang KKA incident

Simpang KKA incident, also known as the Dewantara Incident or Krueng Geukueh tragedy was a massacre of protestors during Aceh insurgency that occurred on 3 May 1999 in North Aceh, Special Region of Aceh, Indonesia.^[1] 52 people were killed and more than 100 wounded^[2][3] after the Indonesian Armed Forces randomly shot at hundreds of peaceful protesters against an earlier shooting incident (30 April) at Cot Murong, Lhokseumawe.

Simpang KKA incident

Part of the insurgency in Aceh
Date	3 May 1999; 26 years ago (1999-05-03)
Location	Dewantara, North Aceh, Special Region of Aceh, Indonesia
Perpetrator	Indonesian National Armed Forces
Deaths	52
Non-fatal injuries	Over 100 (Human Rights Watch)

Incident

Simpang KKA is a junction on the Banda Aceh - Medan road near the PT Kertas Kraft Aceh kraft paper factory at Dewantara, near the city of Lhokseumawe. On 3 May 1999, hundreds of civilians protested against the previous Indonesian military shooting at Cot Murong, where two villagers disappeared and twelve were beaten.^[4]

Witnesses said the army opened fire without warning. 52 people were killed, with Human Rights Watch stating their age ranged from seven to 60, and were shot with lead bullets.^[5]Video footage shows the army shooting indiscriminately as protesters flee.

In popular culture

Alongside three other atrocities, the Simpang KKA incident was featured in the song Harô-Hara (lit. 'Pandemonium') in the album Album Aceh: Nyawöung.^[6]