SAWANG, Indonesia -- Indonesia's red-and-white flag fluttered across the nation on its Independence Day at the weekend, but not in Aceh Province's village of Sawang, which is ruled by separatist rebels.

"No, you won't find any red-and-white here," said Syariddin Paloh, local commander of the armed wing of the Separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

"Or government soldiers. This area, within a radius of three kilometres (two miles), is totally ours," the 34-year-old leader told visiting reporters.

Like other villages in Indonesia, Sawang has a drowsy market and men sip coffee at roadside stalls as a few passing cars kick up dust in the torrid mid-morning heat.

But unlike any other village in the northern province of Aceh, there are no soldiers or policemen patrolling the streets. The nearest government soldiers are manning a roadside military outpost some three kilometres away.

"If soldiers want to come visit us, they should at least have 2,000 men," bragged Paloh.

In Sawang, it is gun-toting rebels who are on the streets. some in camouflage, they mix with the local population with apparent ease. children play among the fighters, some of whom have grenade launchers or other impressive weapons slung over their shoulders.

the only thing that identifies the local aceh commander, paloh, as a rebel is the handgun tucked into his belt and a satellite handphone sticking out of his shirt pocket.

with him is abu rasyidin, the mustachioed gam operation commander for the whole of north aceh district.

the 44-year-old rebel says he underwent military training in libya shortly after he joined gam in 1987.

the gam leaders have invited journalists to the village.

two rebels on a motorcycle met a car carrying reporters halfway from lhokseumawe, the heavily garrisoned main town of north aceh some 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of here, and escorted them past the indonesian military outpost into the village.

the reporters were shown around. children and adults alike, when questioned, said they felt safe with the presence of rebels.

"if soldiers come, we will all flee into the hills and the jungle. all -- men, women, children, young and old," said one man, who declined to give his name.

the last clash here between rebels and soldiers took place last week some two kilometers north of the sawang market.

"no victims on both sides, but soldiers shot dead two civilians during their sweep operations to seek rebels in the area," paloh said.

although everyone seemed relaxed, some armed men could be seen on the ready among the trees on the rim of the jungle.

"don't worry, that is just for our own security," said paloh.

while the rebels may be providing security in sawang, they are behind unrest elsewhere.

dozens of explosions were heard across aceh ahead of independence day saturday.

gam members claimed responsibility for most of them, saying they were designed to defeat independence celebrations and hamper government military operations in the province.

but the movement denied it was responsible for a bomb in the capital banda aceh saturday in which 13 people were wounded, most of them officials preparing to celebrate the 57th anniversary of this archipelago's independence from the netherlands on august 17, 1945.

the gam, whose top leaders live in exile in sweden, are still fighting for independence. since 1976 they have been battling for energy-rich province aceh to be separated from the rest of indonesia.

more than 10,000 people have perished in the conflict, including some 850 this year alone.

indonesia is preparing to resume peace talks with the gam, which have been held on and off in geneva since 2000.