The two Ojek drivers, identified as La Ode Alwi and Midung, were gunned down by the ruthless armed rebels while passing by the area at around 12:30 p.m. local time, the Papua provincial police spokesman, Sen. Coms. Ahmad Kamal, stated.
Local residents then notified the Ilaga police precinct of this shooting incident, so that the bodies of the two ill-fated Ojek drivers could be moved to a local health center, he noted.
Speaking in connection with the reports he had received, Kamal affirmed that the killers belonged to the Venny Murib-led armed separatist group. After shooting the two civilians to death, the rebels fled, he noted.
In fact, over the past year, the armed Papuan separatists had not only campaigned a spate of killings of civilians and security personnel but they were also involved in other grave crimes, including holding civilians hostage and raping the victims.
On February 2, 2019, the armed Papuan rebels also gunned down a civilian in a village of Jayawijaya District.
This murder of Sugeng Efendi, a resident of Wuyukwi Village, Mulia Sub-district, has raised the death toll of civilians in the hands of armed Papuan rebels following the killings of 31 construction workers in December 2018.
This 25-year-old kiosk keeper was murdered two days after the Free Papua Movement (OPM) voiced its official support for its armed wing's declaration of war against Indonesia.
According to Radio New Zealand (RNZ), the announcement was made by OPM spokesman Jeffrey Bomanak at a press conference held in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea, on January 31, 2019.
RNZ quoted Bomanak as saying that the war against the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia "would not end until Jakarta agreed to meet for peaceful negotiations, for which the OPM is establishing a team of negotiators." Related news: Armed group attacks patrol vehicle near Freeport
Related news: Police confirm armed civilian group behind recent firefight in Papua
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
