Military and police hunt killers of migrants in Papua

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

The whereabouts of the bodies of five migrants, killed a week ago by suspected separatist rebels in a remote area of Papua, remained a mystery on Tuesday as soldiers and police continued to hunt the gunmen.

From Jayapura, Trikora military commander Maj. Gen. Nurdin Zainal, who is overseeing security in Papua, confirmed the military had not yet found the bodies.

Nurdin suspected the bodies may have been buried or cremated by the attackers.

Nurdin said residents of Tinggi Nambut village, Puncak Jaya regency, had told him that the five victims, all migrants from Makassar in South Sulawesi, were shot dead by the gunmen, who authorities believe to be members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM).

OPM commander Golait Tabuni was believed to have led the 100- strong group, Nurdin said.

The gunmen controlled Tinggi Nambut from Oct. 12, the day of the ambush but had already left when soldiers and police officers stormed the village on Saturday.

Nurdin said at least 84 armed soldiers and police retook the village. Security forces were still searching for the suspected rebels, who were believed to have fled to the Bukit Lima Jari area about 14 kilometers from the Puncak Jaya capital city of Mulia.

"Our target is (now) to secure Bukit Lima Jari," he said.

Because only a few of the 100 rebels carried firearms, the military would not deploy more troops in the hunt, Nurdin said.

The gunmen ambushed the migrants who were driving hard-top jeeps in Tinggi Nambut, killed them and burned the vehicles. Several passengers, all indigenous Papuans, escaped and reported the incident to a nearby military post.

The motive of the attack was not clear. However, Nurdin believed the attack was a show of strength by the separatists.

He said the ambush could have been retaliation for the deaths of five suspected rebels during two gunfire incidents on Aug. 17 and Sept. 14 between soldiers and OPM members.

Nurdin warned of more separatist attacks on soldiers and police, as well as civilians. The military had earlier claimed the OPM's strength was significantly diminished.

"The latest incident should make all sides aware that the OPM is not only the enemy of the police and military, but all civilians. They can attack whoever they want," he said.

The OPM rebels have been fighting for the independence of Papua since the early 1960s.