Commander of the 172/PWY District Military Command Brig. Gen. Izak Pangemanan noted that the bodies would be moved only if the weather were conducive.
In order to reach Pingki Village, the rescuers, deployed to move the bodies of the five slain civilians, are required to cross an overflowing river, he told ANTARA during a telephonic interview from Jayapura on Thursday evening.
Pangemanan remarked that the civilians were gunned down and tortured by several members of the Tandius Gwijangge-led armed separatist terrorist group in the village on Thursday.
One of the victims was identified as Pingki tribal chief Obaja, while four others were workers employed by a Pingki villager to build his house.
Pangemanan clarified that four of them were not employed by PT Papua Crenoma, a construction contractor currently building a bridge in the Kali Wit neighborhood of Pingki Village, Yahukimo District, Papua Province.
He, however, confirmed that one of the company's dump trucks was shot at on Thursday afternoon.
The attack caused damage to the truck's windshield, but the driver survived the shooting incident after turning back to the Kali Kuk camp on KM 47+600, he revealed.
Over the past few years, armed Papuan groups have applied hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel and unleashed acts of terror against civilians in the districts of Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak to instill fear among the people.
The recent targets of such acts have included construction workers, motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers, teachers, students, street food vendors, and even civilian aircraft.
On April 25, 2021, Papuan separatists, operating in Beoga, ambushed State Intelligence Agency (Papua) chief, Maj. Gen. I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha, and several security personnel during their visit to Dambet Village.
Following Nugraha's fatal shooting, President Joko Widodo instructed the TNI and National Police to track down and arrest the members of all separatist and terrorist groups operating in Papua, stressing there is no place for them within Indonesian territory.
In response to the ongoing security disturbances, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo has warned that the state must not allow armed separatists to continue to terrorize communities in Papua.
It must ensure that the Papuans' rights to enjoy the outcomes of development programs in the country's easternmost province are not disrupted and hijacked by continued acts of terror, he stressed.
The State Constitution mandates that the government ensure Indonesian provinces, including Papua, are able to witness development to usher in prosperity for all people, Soesatyo noted in a recent statement.
However, ongoing security disturbances created by separatist terrorists are impeding the government's efforts to bring prosperity to all Papuans, he pointed out.
"It will not be easy to develop Papua if the armed Papuan terrorists' acts of terror against innocent civilians there intensify and escalate," he cautioned.
To defend the rights of Papuan people to enjoy the outcomes of development, TNI and National Police personnel must remain present in Papua, Soesatyo emphasized.
The areas of Ilaga, Nduga, Kenyam, and Intan Jaya remain vulnerable due to the threat posed by separatist terrorists, he cautioned. Related news: Unidentified gunmen fatally shoot 5 people in Papua's Yahukimo
Related news: Unidentified gunmen shoot two civilians in Papua
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
