Indonesian separatists brace for ‘swift and deadly’ retribution after up to 31 people were killed in remote West Papua district
- On Thursday, the military said it had retrieved 16 bodies from Nduga, but the total death toll has still not been confirmed
- An exiled independence leader, now based in the UK, has called for calm in the wake of the killings at the weekend
The exiled leader of the West Papuan independence movement has called for calm after independence fighters attacked and killed up to 31 people in a remote West Papuan district on Sunday.
On Thursday the Indonesian military said it had located the bodies of 16 people in the district of Nduga. Nine have been retrieved and transported to the main town of Timika. None were identified. Gunfire was hampering efforts to recover the rest, the military said.
Benny Wenda, the UK-based chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), said it was hard to know exactly what happened at Nduga, amid conflicting reports on the long-running tensions, and without free access for media or human rights groups.
Indonesian authorities said it was civilian construction workers that were killed by separatist militants. Another 15 people – including seven employees of the state-owned contractor that was building infrastructure in the region and a 4-year-old boy – have been evacuated.
We cannot trust the Indonesian government’s account about Nduga
Independence movement the Papuan liberation army, TPNPB, under commander Egianus Kogeya, claimed responsibility but said those killed were all members of the Indonesian military (TNI).