Stolen rifles recovered in military compound<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua<\/p>\n
After four days of an operation to recover 29 stolen rifles and
\nthe rebels who allegedly stole them, combat soldiers from the
\nArmy's Special Forces (Kopassus) recovered nine of the rifles,
\nsix of which they located on the Wamena military district
\ncompound, the very place from where they went missing.<\/p>\n
On Friday, 29 rifles were stolen from the military district's
\narsenal, prompting Jakarta to deploy 144 Kopassus personnel on
\nSaturday, ordering them to hunt down the thieves in the forest in
\nJayawijaya regency.<\/p>\n
The deployment of the elite troops came just over a month
\nafter the Army recalled a Kopassus task force in Papua after a
\nsix-year presence.<\/p>\n
Trikora Military Commander Nurdin Zainal, who oversees Papua,
\ntold The Jakarta Post in an interview that three of the nine
\nrecovered rifles were surrendered willingly by local residents of
\nNapua village, while the remaining six were recovered in the
\nhousing complex inside the Wamena military district compound.<\/p>\n
There was suspicion that personnel from the military district
\nplayed a role in the theft because the burglary occurred under
\nvery noses of on-duty soldiers. Six soldiers had already been
\ninterrogated in connection with the incident. Six employees of
\nstate electricity company PT PLN's local office were also
\nquestioned because there was a blackout at the time of the
\nburglary.<\/p>\n
The recovered nine rifles are PM, M16 and SP types. Ten other
\nrifles were recovered on Saturday, only one day after the
\nburglary. Soldiers are still searching for the remaining 10
\nmissing rifles, which are allegedly in the hands of rebels.<\/p>\n
The burglary has been blamed on Titus Murib and Kelly Kwalik's
\nFree Papua Movement (OPM) separatist group, which operates in the
\nterritory.<\/p>\n
In the interview, Nurdin explained that within four days of
\nthe military operation, the soldiers had identified the locations
\nof two rebel hideouts.<\/p>\n
\"We will continue to search until we recover all the stolen
\nrifles and apprehend those responsible,\" said Nurdin.<\/p>\n
He said the military was handling the case professionally and
\nwould not violate human rights. \"It's proven that in four days of
\nthe operation, no human rights violations were reported as having
\nbeen committed by the military,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
The military had gathered local religious and community
\nleaders, as well as tribal chiefs, to give them clear information
\nabout the burglary and the operation, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I said to them that if they have any complaints about the
\noperation, they can directly report them to the Wamena district
\nmilitary, not to any unofficial report centers,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stolen-rifles-recovered-in-military-compound-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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