Seven alleged rebels arrested in Papua

JAYAPURA, Papua: Papua police have arrested seven suspected Papuan rebels in the past five days in Tolikara regency, some 700 kilometers southwest of Jayapura, the Papuan capital.

Acting spokesman for the Papua Provincial Police, Comr. Onny J. Lebelauw, said that the police had apprehended them after a "tip-off". Those arrested are alleged to have burned down houses and government facilities in the regency on Jan. 14.

Seven were arrested 10 days later, while other suspects were still on the run, said Onny.

Kelly's group is one of several separatist groups in Papua that have been waging a low intensity insurgency in the jungle- clad province since 1963, when the former Dutch territory was incorporated into Indonesia. -- JP