Indonesian troops parachuted into central Aceh today and patrols fanned out in search of rebels, who said 17 civilians had been killed during a military offensive, now in its second day.
Unidentified groups have burning down at least 40 schools since one of Asia's longest running separatist conflicts erupted again.
Indonesian military chief General Endriartono Sutarto warned rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) they would be "wiped out". The separatists, who number 5,000, vowed to fight forever.
Seeking to allay fears among this staunchly Muslim province's four million people that troops would abuse civilians as in past operations, Gen Sutarto ordered his officers to shoot their own men in the heads if they did.
The international community responded with dismay to renewed fighting after the collapse of a five-month-old peace pact. The United States, Australia and the United Nations urged a return to talks.
But Gen Sutarto told his forces in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh: "You must chase and wipe out GAM . . . you are trained to kill, so wipe them out".
GAM has demanded independence since 1976 in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians.