BRUSSELS, Aug. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The European Union (EU) is for the first time to head a mission in Asia to supervise the implementation of a peace agreement in Indonesia's Aceh province.

    Despite lacking formal approval from the 25-nation bloc's foreign ministers, the EU-lead mission is expected to start officially on Sept. 15, according to online newsletter EU observer.

    Dutch diplomat Peter Feith, who served as a NATO mediator in the Balkans, has been appointed to head it.

    On Monday, the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) from the Aceh province signed a truce agreement in Helsinki aimed at ending the fighting of nearly three decades.

    A team of 200 to 250 monitors from the EU and five countries ofthe Association of South-East Nations (ASEAN) are to oversee the agreed disarmament of separatist rebels and the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from the province.

    Aceh is the northern-most province of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Enditem