Indonesian security forces opened fire on Papuan protesters on Wednesday, killing six people who tried to storm a government office in Deiyai region, a local resident and a website citing a separatist group said. Many were injured in the clash in Indonesia’s easternmost province, said Deiyai resident John Pakage told Reuters by telephone. The website giving the same toll is Suarapapua.com. In Jakarta, national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo dismissed reports of protesters being killed as “a provocation”, but said one military personnel was killed and three police officers injured in a clash. “Security forces are trying to control the security in the area,” he said. Explained: what has led to the violent riots in Indonesia’s Papua? A Papuan news portal, jubi.com, said thousands of people, some carrying bows and arrows, were protesting in Deiyai. Prasetyo of the police said only information from the Papua police was trustworthy. “We don’t know yet how many victims because communication from there has been limited,” said Papuan military spokesman Eko Daryanto by phone. Yones Douw, a senior official with a Papuan church organisation based in a region near Deiyai, said the situation remained “tense” after protesters clashed with security forces outside a local government office around 2pm local time. In Jakarta, dozens of students protested near the presidential palace, local media reported. Photos showed that some protesters had painted on their face the symbol from a banned flag of a Papuan independence movement. Separatist rebels ‘execute 31 construction workers’ in Indonesia’s Papua Thousands of Papuans have been protesting over perceived ethnic discrimination since last week, with protesters torching a market, a jail and government offices in Papua. The demonstrations were triggered by a racist slur against Papuan students , who were hit by tear gas in their dormitory and detained in the city of Surabaya on Indonesia’s main island of Java on August 17, but some protest rallies grew into a broader demand for an independence vote. About 1,200 police officers have flown to the region which already has a heavy military presence because of to decades of separatist conflicts. Jakarta has cut internet access in the region in the past week, to stop people sharing “provocative” messages that could trigger more violence, a step criticised by rights group and journalists, who said it had made reporting difficult.