The confirmation on the death of the Indonesian soldier was received from four PT Istaka Karya workers who survived the killings, Spokesman of the Papua Provincial Police Senior Commissioner A. M. Kamal said.
On Tuesday morning, 153 military and police personnel were transported to Mbua, which is the closest sub-district to Yigi Subdistrict, he noted, adding that two of the four workers who survived the killing sustained shot wounds when they were found by the on-duty security personnel.
The wounded workers were identified as Martinus Sampe and Jefrianto, while two other survivors were identified as Irawan, a Telkomsel employee, and John, a worker of a local health center, he added.
The four survivors were quoted as saying that the armed separatists destroyed the military post in Mbua Subdistrict and killed one soldier. In conducting their attack, the rebels were assisted by around 250 local residents, he remarked.
The workers, who survived the attack, had been transported to Wamena for medical checkup.
Meanwhile, Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that the murder of the bridge development workers in Papua Province was a sinister act.
"This is proof that there are still people who want to kill people involved in development. This is an unscrupulous act," Panjaitan stated.
However, he acknowledged that he had not yet received the complete information on the incident which befell the bridge construction workers. He did not know whether the workers were guarded by the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) personnel.
On Dec 2, 2018, 31 workers from PT Istaka Karya, who were engaged in construction and building the Trans Papua project, were killed by the Armed Criminal Group (KKB) in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi Sub-District, Nduga District, Papua.
Reporting by Anita Permata Dewi
Editing by Rahmad Nasution
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
