"The secretary general welcomes the completion of the withdrawal by the government of Indonesia of its troops from Aceh, honoring the terms of the peace accord with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed in Helsinki, Finland, on 15 August 2005," Annan's spokesman said in a statement.

"He also welcomes the handover by GAM of its declared arsenal of 840 weapons and the dissolution of its armed wing, as stipulated by the peace agreement," the spokesman said.

Indonesia withdrew its final contingent of non-local troops from Aceh on Thursday.

The pact signed in August in Helsinki was aimed at ending nearly three decades of bloodshed that led to some 15,000 deaths, mostly civilians.

Implementation of the agreement, which is being overseen by 240 monitors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union, has so far exceeded the expectations of the most optimistic observers.

"The secretary general commends the efforts of the Aceh Monitoring Mission, comprised of EU and ASEAN members, in overseeing this historic period of transition, which he believes can serve to lay the foundation for a secure and peaceful Aceh," the spokesman added.

The peace deal was hammered out in the wake of the December 2004 tsunami, which killed some 168,000 Acehnese and forced both sides to take stock of their priorities.

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