Schools remain closed in Jayapura

JAYAPURA, Papua: Thousands of elementary and high school students in Pantai Timur subdistrict in Jayapura regency missed classes because their teachers had left the city due to security disturbances in the subdistrict.

Damianus Swenik, a local informal leader, called on local authorities to restore the disrupted security and order to allow the teachers to return to do their jobs.

"Our children will remain uneducated if the schools remain closed," he said here on Tuesday.

He said that last September, two rebels were killed in a shootout between the local military and supporters of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in the subdistrict. --Antara