Thank God, many members of the armed groups have conveyed their pledge of allegiance to Indonesia and have reunited with community members in their respective villagesJayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Several members of armed Papuan separatist and terrorist groups have ended their resistance and conveyed their pledge of allegiance to the Unitary State of Republic of Indonesia, Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Mathius Fakhiri stated.
"Thank God, many members of the armed groups have conveyed their pledge of allegiance to Indonesia and have reunited with community members in their respective villages," Fakhiri noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted here, Thursday.
However, six armed groups operating in several areas continue to pose security threats to unarmed and innocent civilians as well as security personnel, Fakhiri remarked.
The notorious armed groups are led by Lekagak Telenggen, Egianus Kogoya, and Serbinus Waker, among others, he revealed, adding that regional governments played an important role in persuading them to end their resistance.
District heads, directly appointed by community members through democratic elections, are relatively more emotionally connected with the armed groups’ members than the army and police personnel, he remarked.
In conducting law enforcement operations against armed separatist terrorists, the security personnel attempt to arrest them alive, so that they could uncover their networks, he revealed.
Papua's police has mapped six armed Papuan separatist terrorist groups actively operating in the province's mountainous areas of the sub-districts of Ilaga and Beoga in Puncak District; Sugapa Sub-district in Intan Jaya District; and Nduga District.
Over the past few years, armed Papuan groups have often employed hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel and mounted acts of terror against civilians in the districts of Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak to trigger a sense of fear among the people.
The recent targets of such acts of terror included construction workers, motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers, teachers, students, street food vendors, and also civilian aircraft.
On December 2, 2018, a group of armed Papuan rebels brutally killed 31 workers from PT Istaka Karya engaged in the construction of the Trans Papua project in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi Sub-district, Nduga District.
On the same day, armed attackers also killed a soldier, identified as Handoko, and injured two other security personnel, Sugeng and Wahyu.
Such acts of violence have continued this year. On January 6, 2021, at least 10 armed separatist terrorists vandalized and torched a Quest Kodiak aircraft belonging to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) on the Pagamba village airstrip.
On February 8, 2021, a 32-year-old man was shot at close range in Bilogai Village, Sugapa Sub-district.
The victim, identified by his initials as RNR, sustained gunshot wounds on the face and right shoulder and was taken to the Timika Public Hospital in Mimika District on February 9.
In a separate incident on February 9, six armed Papuans fatally stabbed a motorcycle taxi (ojek) driver.
A motorcycle taxi driver was shot dead by an unknown gunman in Papua.
On April 8, 2021, several armed Papuan rebels opened fire at a kiosk in Julukoma Village, Beoga Sub-district, Puncak District.
The shooting resulted in the death of a Beoga public elementary school teacher, identified as Oktovianus Rayo.
After killing Rayo, the armed attackers torched three classrooms at the Beoga public senior high school.
On April 9, 2021, armed separatists reportedly fatally shot another teacher, Yonatan Randen, on the chest.
Two days later, nine classrooms at the Beoga public junior high school were set ablaze by an armed group.
Barely four days later, Ali Mom, a student of the Ilaga public senior high school in Beoga Sub-district, was brutally killed by armed attackers.
On April 25, 2021, Papuan separatists, operating in Beoga, ambushed State Intelligence Agency (Papua) Chief I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha and several security personnel during their visit to Dambet Village.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
