AFP
Nine separatist rebels and a policeman were killed in fighting in Indonesia’s Papua province, officials said Wednesday, after Jakarta vowed to come down hard on the insurgents who killed the government’s regional intelligence chief – an army brigadier general – on Sunday.
Fighting broke out between government security forces and the insurgent group in Puncak regency on Tuesday, said Iqbal Alquddusy, spokesman for Operation Nemangkawi, a joint military-police task force to hunt down the Papuan rebels.
“Based on our findings on the ground during a firefight at the hideout of the Lekagak Telenggen criminal group, it is clear that nine of them were shot dead,” Iqbal told BenarNews. He was referring to Lekagak Telenggen, the general operations commander for the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement separatist organization.