Over these past five years, I became the sub-district head twice. Such incidents did not ever occur during that period. I ensure that the sub-district's community members had nothing to do with themJayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Notorious armed Papuan rebels have terrorized residents in Serambakon Sub-district, Pegunungan Bintang District, Papua Province, Sub-district Head Thadeus Asemki revealed.
Those armed criminals committed several acts of terror on the gullible residents of Serambakon Sub-district, he noted in a press statement that ANTARA received in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Thursday.
"Over these past five years, I became the sub-district head twice. Such incidents did not ever occur during that period. I ensure that the sub-district's community members had nothing to do with them," Asemki remarked.
To address this situation, Asemki admitted to having coordinated with other sub-district heads in Pegunungan Bintang District and urged them to return to their sub-districts.
The acts of terror committed by those armed rebels in the area of Oksibil, the capital of Pegunungan Bintang District, had terrified local residents. Consequently, they were fearful of leaving their homes for harvesting their agricultural land.
In stopping the spread of public fear, Asembi has called on the district administration and law enforcement agencies to restore law and order, so that local communities would again be able to recoup their freedom and peace.
The security situation in Papua remains vulnerable to acts of deadly violence committed by notorious Papuan separatists.
The rebels have engaged in frequent exchanges of fire with the Indonesian military and police personnel. The rebels also launched deadly attacks on civilians over the past years and killed several of them.
The Papua Police recorded that from early January to December 28, 2019, a total of 23 shooting and criminal cases involving armed Papuan groups had claimed the lives of 10 members of the Indonesian police and military as well as 10 civilians.
The armed Papuan criminals committed such criminal acts in the administrative areas of the districts of Puncak Jaya, Jayawijaya, Mimika, and Paniai in 2019, Papua Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw remarked on December 28, 2019. (INE).
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Translator: Alfian R, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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