Indonesia marks tsunami 12 years ago with prayers

 Thousands of Indonesians prayed for their loved ones at mass graves and mosques Monday to mark a tsunami which devastated Aceh province 12 years ago today, one of the worst natural disasters in human history.


Some 170,000 lives were lost in the country when a 9.1-magnitude "megathrust" quake struck Aceh, a predominantly Muslim province in the northern tip of Sumatra island, bringing about massive waves that also hit coastal areas as far away as Somalia.

It killed about 50,000 people in other countries around the Indian Ocean, bringing the total fatalities to approximately 220,000.
 [ahram.org.eg/AFP]
26/12/16