The government plans to launch emergency response measures to address the impact of the most recent armed conflict, which has forced around 600 locals to flee their homes, Papua Deputy Governor Klemen Tinal said in Jayapura on Tuesday.
"The official report on Intan Jaya's current situation the district's deputy head has submitted to us is a legitimacy for us to take necessary measures to restore the district's condition," Tinal remarked.
The handling of locals taking refuge for safety reasons would be the government's priority, he said.
Meanwhile, deputy head of Intan Jaya district, Yan Kobogoyau, said conditions in the district have been improving and many refugees have gradually returned home.
The Papua provincial government is expected to take strategic measures to restore normalcy in Intan Jaya, he added.
As part of the provincial government's mitigation efforts, the Papua Social Affairs Office has prepared 120 tons of rice which will be distributed to the refugees staying in temporary shelters in Sugapa, Nabire, and Timika.
The Papua administration in Jayapura had earlier asked the Intan Jaya government to submit an official report on conditions in the district amid continued acts of terror by armed Papuan groups.
Papua provincial government's secretary, Doren Wakerkwa, had on February 16, 2021 highlighted the need for a report on the general condition of public services, communities, and the security and stability situation in Intan Jaya.
The district's residents are in need of assistance and the Papua provincial government is willing to help if assistance is sought, he remarked.
The Indonesian province of Papua has been witness to a spate of violence, with armed Papuan groups in the districts of Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak targeting civilians and security personnel over the past two years.
Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September, 2020, with notorious armed groups launching a series of attacks in the area that claimed the lives of two soldiers and two civilians and left two others injured.
On February 15, 2021, several armed Papuan rebels engaged in a gunfight with Indonesian army personnel in Mamba village, Sugapa sub-district, Intan Jaya district, which resulted in the death of one soldier.
The same day, a joint team of military and police personnel shot dead three armed Papuan rebels who tried to take the rifles of several security personnel securing the Sugapa public health center.
Terrorized by the shooting of a villager, identified by his initials as RNR, by an armed criminal on February 8, 2021, about 359 residents of Intan Jaya took refuge in a church over safety concerns.
Most of those who decided to leave their homes and move to the church over fears of being targeted by members of the notorious armed group were residents of Bilogai village of Sugapa sub-district. (INE)
Related news: Jayapura awaits Intan Jaya government's report on district's condition
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Hendrina DK, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
