Long-running rebellions cast a shadow yesterday over relief efforts in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, nations badly struck by the earthquake and tsunami two weeks ago.

Indonesia?s military beefed up security in Aceh, the region worst hit, after gunfire erupted in the provincial capital Banda Aceh early in the day. There were no casualties, but one policeman said it could have been related to a long-running insurgency in Aceh.

In Sri Lanka, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the government should use the world?s support to heal the country?s ethnic divisions and end a civil war with Tamil rebels.

The government blocked Annan from visiting tsunami-hit areas in the rebel-held north and east of the island on Saturday, citing security concerns. ?The world wants to help Sri Lanka in the task to recover and rebuild,? he said yesterday. ?I hope that Sri Lanka would use the support and the goodwill, not only to recover from this tragedy but as an opportunity to unite in the work for peace.?

The government?s two-decade war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels has killed more than 64,000 people but is on hold thanks to a three-year ceasefire.

Sri Lanka?s President Chandrika Kumaratunga said Colombo was reaching out to all parts of the island. ?We have been sending ? the government and international agencies through the government ? much relief aid, food and other things to the affected areas, including the north where Tamil Tigers are situated. They have expressed satisfaction,? she told BBC television.

Thousands more missing

At least 156,000 people were killed in 13 countries around the Indian Ocean by the most widespread natural disaster in living memory.

Thousands more are still missing ? some 48,000 in Aceh alone, Indonesia said ? and hope is thin of finding many alive.

The shots in Banda Aceh raised concerns for the safety of hundreds of Western aid personnel pouring into Aceh province, where almost all Indonesia?s 104,000 deaths occurred.

One policeman blamed rebels waging a separatist campaign in Aceh, but another said a disturbed government soldier fired.

The waves also killed more than 30,000 people in Sri Lanka, 15,000 in India and over 5,000 in Thailand. People also died in Maldives, Myanmar, Bangladesh and several East African nations.

In an unprecedented response, governments and agencies have pledged more than $5 billion in aid. Corporations and private individuals, from Hollywood stars and professional athletes to children donating lunch money, have promised $1.5 billion more.

Thai progress

Rich nations pledged on Friday to suspend debt repayments by tsunami-hit nations, which may free resources for rebuilding.

World Bank President James Wolfensohn, visiting Sri Lanka, said the Bank would also consider debt relief and could hand out up to $1.5 billion in aid. But he cautioned he was concerned about how funds are spent. President George W. Bush urged Americans to keep opening their wallets for South Asia tsunami victims.

Forty nations lost nationals in the catastrophe. Around 7,500 foreign tourists are dead or unaccounted for, most of them in Thailand.

In one of the worst-hit resorts, Khao Lak, Thai police said they hoped they had removed all bodies of tourists from main hotels, but corpses were still being recovered in outlying areas.

?The area inside the hotel is clear of bodies. Some places still smell but that has turned out to be dead fish,? police Lieutenant Sommart Kliangsin said at the Sofitel beachside resort, cordoned off to prevent looting.

In a sign of progress, many rooms are daubed in red paint, meaning they have been checked and declared ?clean? of bodies.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer visited a makeshift mortuary at a temple just north of Khao Lak, where international forensic experts are trying to identify bodies.

In Sri Lanka, an elderly man was found dazed and ill in the ruins of a building swamped by the tsunami but it was unclear if he had been trapped there since the tsunami, as residents said they had seen him walking around in recent days.

Australian researchers said the Earth was still shaking from the earthquake off Aceh, the most powerful for 40 years. ?These are not things that are going to throw you off your chair,? said Australian National University researcher Herb McQueen, ?but it is certainly above the background level of vibrations that the earth is normally accustomed to.?

The oscillation was fading and equated to about a millimetre of vertical motion of the earth. US scientists say the quake may have permanently sped the Earth?s rotation ? shortening days by a fraction of a second ? and caused the planet to wobble.

David FOX

Most Indians missing after the catastrophe may be dead

■ Indian government said yesterday a large number of the people missing since the Dec. 26 tsunami may have died.

An official statement said the toll had risen to 15,639 comprising 10,022 confirmed dead and 5,617 people missing. ?It is apprehended that quite a large number of the missing people may be actually dead,? Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters. The missing people include 5,531 in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, 1,200 km (750 miles) off India?s east coast.