Foreign relief workers will have to take army escorts to most of Indonesia's tsunami-stricken Aceh province because of the threat of attacks by rebels, the military said today, in a move that the United Nations says will create bottlenecks in aid deliveries.

The military also said it was short of troops to escort relief workers - further heightening fears aid groups will not be able to rush food, medicine and tents to hundreds of thousands of survivors in desperate need of assistance.

Only the areas around the provincial capital Banda Aceh and the stricken coastal town of Meulaboh were safe for foreigners, Indonesian military spokesman Col Ahmad Yani Basuki told The Associated Press.

"Other areas aside from that are potential trouble spots," he said. "They are not open and anyone wishing to go there will need to co-ordinate with the military due to security concerns."

That means taking military escorts, but Basuki warned: "We don't have enough personnel to secure everyone."