Papuan armed group accused of shooting virus team members
MILITARY and police personnel belonging to the Nemangkawi task force in Intan Jaya regency, Papua, are on a manhunt for an armed group that purportedly shot members of a local Covid-19 response team.
As reported by Antara News Agency, the Nemangkawi joint task force released a statement on Saturday saying an armed group had shot two health workers affiliated with the local Covid-19 task force in Wandai district, Intan Jaya regency, on Friday at 4:30pm local time.
The Free Papua Movement (OPM) has denied that it was involved in the shooting, claiming that the two men were shot by security forces.
“We want to emphasise that the people who shot the two medical workers were TNI [Indonesian Military] and National Police personnel. They are the culprits,” OPM spokesperson Sebby Sanbom said in a statement on Saturday, as quoted by tempo.co. “Indonesia must take responsibility.”
The two medical workers – identified as Amalek Bagau, 30, and Eniko Somou, 39 – were shot while delivering medical supplies to a remote area in Intan Jaya regency.
The Nemangkawi task force, with the assistance of the Intan Jaya Police, managed to locate and evacuate the victims and transferred them to the Nabire General Hospital on Saturday morning, said the statement.
Papua Police spokesperson Senior Commander AM Kamal said Amalek had survived the incident, but was in critical condition, while Eniko had died from his wounds.
“It took us about five hours to arrive at the crime scene,” Kamal said, citing difficulties
We want to emphasise that the people who shot the two medical workers were [Indonesian Military] and National Police
in navigating the steep terrain.
The case is the latest in a recent string of violence that has resulted in the deaths of civilians in the region.
Last month, two young Papuans, Eden Armando Bebari and Ronny Wandik, were allegedly shot to death by security forces in Mimika regency after being mistaken for members of an armed separatist group.
A week before that, New Zealander Graeme Thomas Wall, an employee of gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia, was killed by gunmen in the area.