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Three killed in fresh Papua violence: Indonesia authorities
JAYAPURA, Indonesia, June 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Three people were killed by
Papuan rebels on Monday, Indonesian authorities said, in the latest violence
to hit the restive region ahead of regional elections.
The separatists fired on a small plane carrying 15 police officers —
travelling to oversee the polls — just after it landed at Nduga in the
centre of the province, Papua military spokesman Muhammad Aidi said.
The plane’s pilot was injured in the attack, he added.
Several rebels then killed a trio of street vendors as they fled the scene,
Aidi said.
“As they were fleeing, they shot and attacked vendors near the airport,” he
said.
“Three of them were shot dead while another was seriously injured.”
A Papua police spokesman said authorities were looking for the shooters.
The incident comes days after a pilot on another plane was shot and injured
at the same airport.
Indonesia holds regional elections on Wednesday that are seen as a
bellwether for the 2019 presidential polls.
Papua, on the western half of New Guinea island, has been the scene of a
simmering insurgency since it was annexed by Indonesia in the late 1960s.
US-based firm Freeport McMoRan’s gold and copper mine has been a frequent
flashpoint in the struggle for independence and a bigger share of the
region’s rich resources.
In April, an Indonesian soldier and at least one separatist rebel were
killed near the huge mine.
BSS/AFP/RY/1640 hrs