The Indonesian president warned troops in Aceh not to use force to prevent locals from attending pro-independence rallies. The president threatened to fire commanders who disobeyed. In the last two days, sixteen people have died in violence related to thousands of people assembling in the provincial capital for the rally. Throughout Indonesia, over a million people have become refugees as a result of ethnic and religious strife. This includes 200,000 in East Timor and 220,000 in the Malukus. Often, settling the refugees elsewhere, as with the 18,000 Malukuans sent to Irian Jaya, just causes more unrest.