2) SOP followed in crackdown on armed Papuan terrorists: police
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1) Villages fired on as Indonesian forces chase West Papuan fighters
5 minutes ago
Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific Journalist
Several members of the West Papua Liberation Army have been killed by Indonesia's military in the past few days as more villages were hit by aerial fire
A village in Papua's Highlands under fire from military forces. 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.
The military crackdown was ordered by President Joko Widodo last month after the Liberation Army killed a senior Indonesian intelligence official in an ambush in the highlands.
Indonesian military operations in the region including Puncak Jaya, Nduga and Intan Jaya regencies intensified in late 2018 after the Liberation Army massacred at least seventeen road construction workers in Nduga.
The latest escalation in armed conflict in the central highlands of Papua province has seen a number of villages significantly damaged in air attacks, and displacement of families to the forests, over the past two weeks.
At the weekend, a Kingmi church in Ilaga's Dolinggame village was among the structures badly damaged after being attacked from an Indonesian military helicopter.
A leading officer with Indonesia's military forces told RNZ Pacific that villages were not targeted, but rather the OPM Free Papua Movement, to which the Liberation Army is broadly linked, was the target.
Colonel Gusti Nyoman Suriastawa said the security forces were taking action in a measured and selective but forceful manner in order to defeat what the government now describes as a terrorist group.
Meanwhile, a Liberation Army spokesman, Sebby Sambom, said hundreds of residents of the area had fled from the repeated air attacks and other TNI patrols in their latest operation.
He said they had fled to villages that are considered safe, some of them having been taken in at the house of the district's Social Service Head, while others trekked to Timika and Nabire in neighbouring regencies.
Researchers have estimated that tens of thousands of villagers have been displaced by the ongoing armed conflict in Papua's interior since 2018, with at least four hundred having died from health impacts.
Spent grenade launcher cartridges used in Indonesian military attacks against West Papua Liberation Army strongholds in Ilaga District. Photo: Supplied
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2) SOP followed in crackdown on armed Papuan terrorists: police
1 hour ago
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Mathius D. Fakhiri emphasized that the Nemangkawi Task Force's members continued their law enforcement operations against armed Papuan terrorists, albeit conducting duties in line with the standard operating procedure (SOP).
Hence, Fakhiri denied a report that three women were shot during a law enforcement operation on May 15, 2021, and stressed that no innocent civilians had fallen victim to crackdowns on the terrorists.
In a statement that ANTARA quoted in Jayapura on Tuesday, Fakhiri remarked that in conducting law enforcement operations, army and police personnel joining the Nemangkawi Task Force made continued attempts to distance innocent civilians from the armed terrorists, who often used them as human shields.
The armed Papuan terrorists often occupy a honai, or traditional house, and use it as their hideout. In the wake of this reality, the task force members then attempt to separate the innocent civilians from the targeted perpetrators, he pointed out.
Fakhiri also denied a groundless report claiming that security personnel had opened fire from a helicopter while evacuating Patrolman 1st Class Komang Wira Natha killed in a gunfight with armed terrorists on April 27, 2021.
Those aboard the helicopter deployed to transport the body of the fallen police officer were left with no choice but to open fire to disperse the armed terrorists, who were on higher ground and shot bullets at the security personnel.
One of the helicopters dispatched to the evacuation site was shot from the ground, but it could return to the home base safely, Fakhiri stated.
Law enforcement operations in May had resulted in the deaths of three armed terrorists, he remarked.
Following the death of Indonesia's top agent in an ambush on April 25, 2021, security personnel raided an armed Papuan separatist terrorist group's headquarters in Makki Village, Ilaga Sub-district, on April 26 and April 27.
During the gunfights with the Lekagak Telenggen-led armed group members, five rebels got killed, and a member of the Nemangkawi Task Force, a joint team of Indonesian military and police, died on duty.
Over these past four months, Papua has borne the brunt of a string of violent attacks by armed separatist terrorist groups targeting innocent civilians in districts, such as Puncak and Intan Jaya.
The armed groups often employ hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel while unleashing acts of terror against civilians to trigger fear among the people.
Ojek drivers, teachers, students, and street food vendors, among others, have fallen victims to their terror acts. They also attacked civilian aircraft.
On the evening of April 11, 2021, several armed Papuan separatist terrorists torched a parked PT Ersa Air helicopter awaiting repair at the Ilaga Airport in Puncak District.
As a result, the outer hull of the helicopter caught fire. The ill-fated helicopter was parked at the airport since March 31, 2021, whilst awaiting the arrival of necessary spare parts to solve its engine problem.
On January 6, 2021, some 10 armed Papuans had also vandalized and torched a Quest Kodiak aircraft belonging to the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) at the Pagamba village airstrip.
The armed men, led by Sabinus Waker, reportedly set the utility aircraft ablaze shortly after its American pilot Alek Luferchek disembarked two passengers.
Related news: PON Papua will be held on schedule, sports minister assures
Related news: Minister hands over compensation to fallen Brimob officer's family
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Hence, Fakhiri denied a report that three women were shot during a law enforcement operation on May 15, 2021, and stressed that no innocent civilians had fallen victim to crackdowns on the terrorists.
In a statement that ANTARA quoted in Jayapura on Tuesday, Fakhiri remarked that in conducting law enforcement operations, army and police personnel joining the Nemangkawi Task Force made continued attempts to distance innocent civilians from the armed terrorists, who often used them as human shields.
The armed Papuan terrorists often occupy a honai, or traditional house, and use it as their hideout. In the wake of this reality, the task force members then attempt to separate the innocent civilians from the targeted perpetrators, he pointed out.
Fakhiri also denied a groundless report claiming that security personnel had opened fire from a helicopter while evacuating Patrolman 1st Class Komang Wira Natha killed in a gunfight with armed terrorists on April 27, 2021.
Those aboard the helicopter deployed to transport the body of the fallen police officer were left with no choice but to open fire to disperse the armed terrorists, who were on higher ground and shot bullets at the security personnel.
One of the helicopters dispatched to the evacuation site was shot from the ground, but it could return to the home base safely, Fakhiri stated.
Law enforcement operations in May had resulted in the deaths of three armed terrorists, he remarked.
Following the death of Indonesia's top agent in an ambush on April 25, 2021, security personnel raided an armed Papuan separatist terrorist group's headquarters in Makki Village, Ilaga Sub-district, on April 26 and April 27.
During the gunfights with the Lekagak Telenggen-led armed group members, five rebels got killed, and a member of the Nemangkawi Task Force, a joint team of Indonesian military and police, died on duty.
Over these past four months, Papua has borne the brunt of a string of violent attacks by armed separatist terrorist groups targeting innocent civilians in districts, such as Puncak and Intan Jaya.
The armed groups often employ hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel while unleashing acts of terror against civilians to trigger fear among the people.
Ojek drivers, teachers, students, and street food vendors, among others, have fallen victims to their terror acts. They also attacked civilian aircraft.
On the evening of April 11, 2021, several armed Papuan separatist terrorists torched a parked PT Ersa Air helicopter awaiting repair at the Ilaga Airport in Puncak District.
As a result, the outer hull of the helicopter caught fire. The ill-fated helicopter was parked at the airport since March 31, 2021, whilst awaiting the arrival of necessary spare parts to solve its engine problem.
On January 6, 2021, some 10 armed Papuans had also vandalized and torched a Quest Kodiak aircraft belonging to the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) at the Pagamba village airstrip.
The armed men, led by Sabinus Waker, reportedly set the utility aircraft ablaze shortly after its American pilot Alek Luferchek disembarked two passengers.
Related news: PON Papua will be held on schedule, sports minister assures
Related news: Minister hands over compensation to fallen Brimob officer's family
Close
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