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BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Dec 25 (AFP): Survivors, families and friends gathered Sunday around the Indian Ocean to remember the dead on the eve of the anniversary of the tsunami which snatched away tens of thousands of loved ones.
More than 220,000 people were killed and the lives of millions more were altered forever in the December 26 catastrophe, unleashed by one of the world's largest-ever earthquakes which struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
In Indonesia's Aceh, the area most devastated by the walls of water, officials readied for the arrival of around 40 special envoys from governments around the world, including East Timorese president Xanana Gusmao.
Around 168,000 people were killed or remain missing in Indonesia.
At the flattened village of Lambung, near where Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will preside over a memorial ceremony Monday at 8:16 am (0116 GMT)-- the precise time the first waves smashed ashore-survivors prepared to hold an overnight vigil.
In Jakarta, the capital of the world's most populous Muslim nation, people have been invited to attend a march culminating with prayers for the victims.
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