'Papuan separatists' kill six civilians

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

Unknown assailants, believed to be members of a Papuan rebel group, launched an armed attack against civilians on Tuesday night in Puncak Jaya regency here, killing six.

Five others, who were construction workers of PT Modern Widya Technical, escaped the attack, which occurred on the outskirts of Mulia, the capital of Puncak Jaya.

Col. W.P. Simanjuntak, deputy chief of the intelligence division of Trikora Military Command, overseeing Papua, said on Thursday that the attack started as at least 11 construction workers -- in four Toyota hardtop jeeps and a pickup truck -- were on their way home to Mulia from Ilu district.

The workers had been contracted to build a road in Ilu.

As they traveled down a quiet street in Ilu, a group of men opened fire on their cars. Despite major damage, several cars escaped the ambush, but others were forced to stop. .

Some people who escaped the ambush drove to Mulia, where they reported the attack to soldiers. The five were Nius Kobar, Alius Jikwa, Yopi Wonda, Hendri and Sutjipto.

Based on the witnesses' testimonies, Simanjuntak said that at least six people died in the incident: Jafar, Ali, Triono, Rudy, Pak De and an unidentified person.

Simanjuntak added that soldiers were still trying to evacuate the victims. He said that getting close to the location of the attack would be difficult, as the assailants had reportedly destroyed six bridges connecting Mulia to Ilu.

Dwi Budi Wahono, an employee of PT Modern Widya Technical, said that his company had evacuated 26 of the company's workers to Wamena city, for their own safety.

Antara news agency reported that hundreds of residents in Ilu were evacuated following the incident. Unconfirmed reports say that members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) -- a resistance movement active in the province since 1963 -- had also set ablaze a government building in the district.

Deputy regent of Puncak Jaya Lukas Enember earlier said that there had been three separate attacks by Papuan rebels on civilians in the past two months.