Last Indonesian troop reinforcements leave Aceh

LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia, Thursday (Reuters) - Indonesia's military pulled the last of its troop reinforcements from Aceh province on Thursday, fulfilling one of the major conditions of a landmark peace agreement with separatist rebels.

The withdrawal of 2,500 soldiers on Thursday comes after the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) disbanded its military wing this week.

The Finnish-mediated pact ended one of Asia's longest running wars. It was signed in August after talks between the two sides accelerated following last December's Indian Ocean tsunami, which left 170,000 people dead or missing in Aceh.

Smiling soldiers carrying weapons and backpacks boarded several ships set to depart from the port city of Lhokseumawe.

"I'm very happy. I have missed my wife terribly," said Lieutenant Anugerah, from the East Java city of Surabaya, who has been in Aceh for eight months.

The final withdrawal of Indonesian security forces - a contingent of police reinforcements - will take place on Saturday. Aceh military commander Supiadin A.S. said in a speech sending off the troops that the government had now pulled 24,125 soldiers from Aceh under the Aug. 15 peace agreement.

He did not say how many were left, but once the last police contingent goes, government forces in Aceh should be no more than 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police.

For its part, GAM has handed in 840 weapons.

The success of the weapons handover and the almost simultaneous withdrawal of tens of thousands of troops and police has surprised even optimists.

The 30-year war killed some 15,000 people, mostly civilians.

Security experts say the next challenges are finding jobs for demobilised GAM fighters and satisfying rebel demands for political participation in Aceh.

The tsunami disaster created pressure for the two sides to end their conflict and open the way for a massive international recovery and rebuilding programme.