Indonesia marks tsunami 12 years ago with prayers

Banda Aceh, Indonesia

THOUSANDS of Indonesians prayed for their loved ones at mass graves and mosques on 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.