'Papuan separatists' kill six civilians<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura<\/p>\n
Unknown assailants, believed to be members of a Papuan rebel
\ngroup, launched an armed attack against civilians on Tuesday
\nnight in Puncak Jaya regency here, killing six.<\/p>\n
Five others, who were construction workers of PT Modern Widya
\nTechnical, escaped the attack, which occurred on the outskirts of
\nMulia, the capital of Puncak Jaya.<\/p>\n
Col. W.P. Simanjuntak, deputy chief of the intelligence
\ndivision of Trikora Military Command, overseeing Papua, said on
\nThursday that the attack started as at least 11 construction
\nworkers -- in four Toyota hardtop jeeps and a pickup truck --
\nwere on their way home to Mulia from Ilu district.<\/p>\n
The workers had been contracted to build a road in Ilu.<\/p>\n
As they traveled down a quiet street in Ilu, a group of men
\nopened fire on their cars. Despite major damage, several cars
\nescaped the ambush, but others were forced to stop. .<\/p>\n
Some people who escaped the ambush drove to Mulia, where they
\nreported the attack to soldiers. The five were Nius Kobar, Alius
\nJikwa, Yopi Wonda, Hendri and Sutjipto.<\/p>\n
Based on the witnesses' testimonies, Simanjuntak said that at
\nleast six people died in the incident: Jafar, Ali, Triono, Rudy,
\nPak De and an unidentified person.<\/p>\n
Simanjuntak added that soldiers were still trying to evacuate
\nthe victims. He said that getting close to the location of the
\nattack would be difficult, as the assailants had reportedly
\ndestroyed six bridges connecting Mulia to Ilu.<\/p>\n
Dwi Budi Wahono, an employee of PT Modern Widya Technical,
\nsaid that his company had evacuated 26 of the company's workers
\nto Wamena city, for their own safety.<\/p>\n
Antara news agency reported that hundreds of residents in Ilu
\nwere evacuated following the incident. Unconfirmed reports say
\nthat members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) -- a resistance
\nmovement active in the province since 1963 -- had also set ablaze
\na government building in the district.<\/p>\n
Deputy regent of Puncak Jaya Lukas Enember earlier said that
\nthere had been three separate attacks by Papuan rebels on
\ncivilians in the past two months.<\/p>",
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