JAKARTA, March 4 (Reuters) – Separatists in Indonesia’s easternmost area of Papua have killed eight technicians engaged on fixing a telecommunications tower in a mountainous space, safety officers and a spokesman for a insurgent group mentioned.
The assault is likely one of the most dangerous in recent times in Papua, a resource-rich space that has seen a simmering separatist battle since being integrated into Indonesia in 1969.
Aqsha Erlangga, a navy spokesman in Papua, mentioned in an announcement that armed teams had gunned down the eight folks on the tower within the Puncak district and that one employee, who he mentioned might be seen on CCTV pleading for assist, survived.
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Sebby Sambom, a spokesman for the Free Papua Motion (OPM), a separatist group, was cited by media as saying members of the group carried out the assault and that civilians had been warned to remain away from the world in anticipation of an assault.
Ahmad Musthofa Kamal, a police spokesman in Papua, advised Kompas TV on Friday that 5 armed teams had been believed to be behind the assault that occurred within the early hours of Wednesday and that it was in retaliation for assaults by safety forces.
“Perpetrators of terror act… every time they need,” he mentioned, including that police had warned civilians concerning the danger of violence within the space and that dangerous climate was hampering efforts to retrieve the our bodies.
In December 2018, the navy wing of the OPM claimed accountability for killing not less than 16 development employees and a soldier constructing a street in Nduga district.
The separatists mentioned they considered the development employees as being members of the navy and casualties of a battle towards the Indonesian authorities.
United Nations human rights specialists this week referred to as on Indonesia to carry an unbiased investigation into experiences of “surprising abuses” focusing on indigenous Papuans, together with killings and enforced displacement. Indonesia rejected the decision and mentioned the Southeast Asian nation has already tackled the accusations. learn extra
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Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Enhancing by Ed Davies
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