Military and police hunt killers of migrants in Papua
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.