Machete-Wielding Rebels Kill 4 Indonesian Soldiers in West Papua

Suspected separatist rebels in West Papua killed four government soldiers and wounded two others during a pre-dawn raid on their post, an Indonesian military commander said, in the single deadliest attack on state security forces in the region this year.

Dozens of people armed with machetes and other crude weapons stormed the post in Maybrat regency around 4 a.m., provincial military commander Maj. Gen. I Nyoman Cantiasa said.

Papuan insurgents later told BenarNews that they carried out the raid in West Papua, one of two provinces which make up the troubled Papua region at the far-eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago.

“About 30 people or more believed to be separatist terrorists armed with machetes attacked the post in the early hours of Thursday, resulting in the deaths of four members of the Indonesian Army and two others suffering stab wounds,” Cantiasa told a news conference broadcast on YouTube. He said five other soldiers were unharmed.

“I have ordered my personnel to hunt down the group,” Cantiasa said, adding that two platoons had been deployed for the task. Platoons comprise about 50 soldiers.

Still, Cantiasa said, West Papua remained safe despite the attack. He urged people to be calm.

“The chief of Maybrat regency has been at the scene to calm the people,” he said.

Full story: BenarNews

Ronna Nirmala
Jakarta