Explosives found near Freeport

Explosives found near Freeport

SORONG, Papua: The Sorong military chief Col. M.R. Saragih
said on Tuesday that a joint patrol had found explosives at the
entrance to the P.T. Freeport gold mine.

However, he did not reveal when the explosives were found or
the quantity involved.

He said the military was leaving it to the police to conduct a
probe into the deadly ambush on Freeport employees on Aug. 31,
which killed two Americans and one Indonesian, and left several
others injured.

Saragih denied suggestions that the Army was behind the deadly
ambush. "This issue has been engineered to tarnish the Army's
good name," he said. Army troops are guarding Freeport's
operations.

He claimed that some separatist groups lived in the jungles
around the mine and that locals supplied them with food. The
groups were led by Kelly Kwalik, Daniel Kogoya, and Titus Murib,
he said. --Antara