Cops: Scores killed in Papua attack
WAMENA: An Indonesian soldier was killed while investigating reports that more than two dozen construction workers were shot dead by separatist rebels in restive Papua province, officials said.
If the killings are confirmed, they would mark the deadliest bout of violence in years to hit a region that has seen a low-level independence insurgency simmer for decades.
Citing a local police officer, Indonesian media reported late Monday that the workers were shot dead on Sunday in Nduga, a district in the centre of the far-flung region on the western half of New Guinea island, just north of Australia.
Police and military teams were sent to the area on Monday when they came under rebel gunfire with one soldier killed and another wounded in the firefight, authorities said.
The employees of state-owned contractor Istaka Karya were building bridges and roads as part of efforts to boost infrastructure in the impoverished region, Indonesia’s public workers minister Basuki Hadimuljono said yesterday.
All work in the area has been halted pending the investigation, he added.
“We’re shocked and saddened to hear the media reports,” the minister told reporters in Jakarta.
“All work is going to be suspended (in the area) given this incident.”
More than a dozen coffins were being readied in Wamena, the nearest major town to where killings allegedly happened.
“Some media are saying 31 workers are dead, some 24, so we really need to check ourselves,” said Papua military spokesman Muhammad Aidi.
The alleged killings were reportedly carried out by rebels who have long fought against Jakarta’s rule.
Some workers reportedly managed to escape the shootings, which were allegedly sparked by separatists angry at some workers who were taking pictures of a pro-Papua independence activities. —