BANDA ACEH

A Norwegian man born in Indonesia was shot dead by gunmen in Aceh on Monday, police said.

Hanafiah Ahmad, 45, had been visiting his former home in Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra when he shot by unidentified gunmen, Aceh Police said.

The victim had been at a foodstall when the gunmen passed by in a van.

Ahmad fled Aceh 12 years ago during the province’s prolonged insurgency against Jakarta rule and sought asylum in Norway, where he was eventually  granted citizenship.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) gave up their decades-long struggle for a separate homeland following the devastating 2004 Asian tsunami that wiped much of the region off the map. It is now ruled by special autonomy granted by the Indonesian government under a peace agreement worked out the following year. Sporadic violence has continued to erupt, however.

Police said they were investigating.