Three more die after Paniai attack

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.