Footage allegedly filmed during February military raid in Puncak regency renews calls for international intervention in contested region<br><strong>Warning</strong>: this article contains graphic content
Suspected Rebels Kill 4 Workers, Take Hostages in Indonesia s Papua Province — BenarNews benarnews.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from benarnews.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
[AFP]
The capital of Papua province and surrounding areas have been without internet for a month, complicating the media’s efforts to report on the armed conflict in Indonesia s easternmost region that has escalated sharply during the same period, press freedom advocates say.
The blackout – due to the accidental cutting of a seabed cable, according to the government – began April 30, days after separatist insurgents killed an army general and President Joko Jokowi Widodo ordered security forces to step up efforts to eradicate the armed groups, in response.
As part of the crackdown, the government declared the separatist rebels a terrorist group, raising alarm among rights activists who said the classification could lead to human rights abuses and endanger civil society.
West Papua Liberation Army unit, led by Egianus Kogoya. Derakma, Nduga regency, Papua. March 2019
Photo: Supplied
Indonesian security forces have zeroed in on Ilaga district of Puncak Jaya regency in the latest stage of their Operation Nemangkawi crackdown against pro-independence Papuan guerilla fighters.
On Saturday, Papua media reported that the commander of a Liberation Army battalion, Mendinus Tabuni, had been killed in North Ilaga, in addition to another fighter two days earlier.
On Sunday, Indonesia s military indicated that two more fighters, members of the Lekagak Telenggen faction of the Liberation Army, had also been killed in Mayumberi, Ilaga District.
A spokesman for Indonesia s joint military (TNI) and police said two members of the Papuan group were killed and another was injured in an exchange of fire with the TNI.
Villages fired on as Indonesian forces chase West Papuan fighters rnz.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rnz.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.