A Garuda Indonesia aircraft departed with the coffin from Biak's Frans Kaisiepo International Airport at 2 p.m. local time on Friday, Commander of the Biak-based 173/Praja Vira Braja Military Resort Command, Brig.Gen. Iwan Setiawan, told ANTARA.
Chief Sergeant Sahlan was killed in an ambush laid by a notorious group of armed separatists on Thursday while he was returning to the Persiapan Hipadipa Military Subdistrict Command in Intan Jaya district with food supplies from the Sugapa area, he informed.
The attackers seized his gun and magazine, he added.
Sahlan was a member of the 1404 Pindrang Military District Command in South Sulawesi province, which has been assigned to back up the Village Supervisory Non-Commissioned Officers (Babinsa) of the Persiapan Hipadipa Military Subdistrict Command in Intan Jaya district.
Related news: Armed civilians tortures, kills two in Papua's Sugapa district
In a separate incident on Thursday, armed Papuan rebels tortured and killed a 49-year-old Ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver identified as Badawi.
On September 13 this year, armed separatists had shot at two other Ojek drivers in Sugapa area, but they managed to survive the attack. The two drivers are currently undergoing treatment in Timika, the capital of Mimika district, Setiawan added.
The security situation in Papua remains volatile owing to the province's vulnerability to acts of deadly violence by separatists and their backers.
In August, 2020, three civilians were assaulted and killed in Yahukimo district. One of the slain civilians was identified as Yausan.
Yausan, who had boarded a pickup truck loaded with batako bricks along with two other residents, was assaulted by a group of local residents armed with spears, machetes, and logs around 4.10 p.m. local time on August 26, 2020.
The 31-year-old was seated at the back of the open L-300 pickup truck to secure the loaded batako bricks, while a woman, who had purchased the bricks, and a man named Bayu sat in the car's cabin in front.
Two other civilians killed in August were identified as a member of Yahukimo District's General Elections Commission (KPU) Office and a carpenter.
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Translator: Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
