Three more die after Paniai attack
Nethy Dharma Somba and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura/Jakarta
Three more people were reported dead on Thursday, following an attack by unknown assailants in the Papua regency of Paniai, three days ago, bringing the total number of dead to four, with two others missing and three others in the hospital.
The three newly identified victims, all construction workers at a new school, were Sonda, 23, who was shot in his back and left leg, Nunung, 25, who was shot in the chest and Kondo, 25, shot in the neck.
Previous reports said that Bangke, 32, was the only fatality in the attack, which occurred in Ugimba subdistrict, Paniai between Nabire and Enarotali, about 500 kilometers southwest of Jayapura, the capital of Papua.
Sr. Comr. Daud Sihombing, the spokesman of the Papua provincial police, said that the three people were earlier reported as missing. He added that they most likely died shortly after the incident, from whence they apparently fled with severe wounds.
"Two of them were found dead, while the third died on his way to the hospital," Daud told reporters in Jayapura.
The remains of the dead construction workers were dispatched to the nearby town of Nabire on Thursday for burial.
The incident happened at around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, when seven construction workers, along with their boss Yohannes, were sleeping in a partially built school building in Ugimba.
They were reportedly being guarded by two police officers, Wardoyo and Hendrik Balalembang.
As they slept, around 10 unidentified gunmen appeared, who the police have since alleged to be Papuan separatist rebels, and showered them with bullets, prompting the two police officers to fire back.
A fierce gun fight developed in the area and lasted for an intense five minutes.
In addition to the four dead, Panggalo, Sulaeman and police officer Hendrik suffered severe injuries, while officer Wardoyo was the only person who left unharmed during the attack.
Panggalo, Sulaeman and Hendrik are being treated at Nabire hospital. Meanwhile, Yohannes, the director of CV Siola the contractor working on the school and one of his workers, Rangga, are still missing, apparently after fleeing the attack, and their condition is not known.
From the spent bullet casings found at the scene, according to the police spokesperson, the weaponry used were Mauser rifles, M- 16 rifles and FN Pistols, all of which were said to have been used in previous incidents attributed to Papuan rebels.
Robbery, not politics, apparently seemed to be the main motive behind Tuesday's attack, as Daud said that all the food, which was being stored at the site, was taken.
Separately, Lt. Col. Gustav Agus Irianto, the chief of Jayawijaya district military command, said that military personnel were hunting down more suspected rebels, 10 of whom were shot dead on Wednesday by Indonesian military (TNI) personnel in the Jayawijaya subdistrict of Yalengga.
Contrary to a previous report, the Jayawijaya incident on Wednesday and the Paniai incident on Tuesday were not linked.
Gustav said that the 10 dead men had been buried on Thursday somewhere in the Jayawijaya regency, ruling out the possibility of positive identification or autopsies.
Meanwhile, in Jakarta, chief of the TNI Gen. Endriartono Sutarto gave a thumbs up to the TNI members involved in the raid, saying that the TNI would continue to search for at least 30 remaining suspected rebels believed to be in that same area.