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Top Stories - AP

U.S. to Scale Back Tsunami Relief Efforts

12 minutes ago Top Stories - AP

By LELY T. DJUHARI, Associated Press Writer

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - The U.S. military — the largest group aiding tsunami survivors — said Thursday it will immediately begin scaling back its relief operations. A barrage of gunfire sent survivors diving for cover at a refugee camp in an Indonesian region long torn by a war between separatists and the government.

In Japan, nations at a U.N. conference rallied behind plans for a network of buoys to warn of future killer waves in the Indian Ocean.

Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the U.S. military "will start right now transferring functions to the appropriate host nations and international organizations."

About 15,000 American troops have been deployed to tsunami-hit nations, where huge waves spawned by a massive earthquake swept away coastal settlements on Dec. 26. Most of the soldiers have been sent to worst-hit Sumatra island in Indonesia.

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