The UN's refugee agency said yesterday it would complete a full withdrawal from Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh Province by the weekend as new restrictions on aid groups began to take effect.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it had hoped to complete a US$60-million relief plan for the province, where more than half a million people are homeless, but the government said its help was not needed.

Robert Ashe, UNHCR's regional representative, said he understood the government's decision, but said his agency would remain on standby to offer help. Indonesia will next month impose new regulations that are expected to result in the ejection of scores of foreign relief workers from the closely-guarded province, raising concerns for the welfare for those still needing assistance.

Aceh, where more than 126,000 people were killed and 93,000 are missing from the December 26 earthquake and tsunami, was off-limits to foreigners prior to the disaster as government troops tried to crush a long-running rebellion.

While it insists it still welcomes a foreign presence, the government pushed for the early completion of a massive overseas military relief operation and has imposed restrictions on aid workers looking for long-term involvement.

It initially imposed a March 26 deadline three months after the disaster for reviewing the relief operations, but this week pushed it back until April 27 saying it would spend the next month investigating aid groups.

The UNHCR's Ashe said his agency had begun to pull out in line with the original March 26 deadline, and was resigned to the departure despite the last-minute extension.

(China Daily March 25, 2005)