Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - A military officer has accused the Lamek Tablo-led armed Papuan separatist terrorists of having set ablaze several public facilities and houses in Kiwirok Sub-district, Pegunungan Bintang District, Papua Province, on Monday morning.

Members of this notorious terrorist group are also involved in a gunfight with several Indonesian security personnel, Commanding Officer of the 1715 Yahukimo District Military Command Lt Col Christian Irreuw stated.

The fire-ravaged public facilities comprise a school building, bank office, and public health center, he told ANTARA during a telephonic interview from Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Monday afternoon.

Following the incidents, army and police personnel stationed in Kiwirok Sub-district secured many locals fleeing their homes in panic at the military and police compounds over security reasons, he noted.

In the gunfight, a soldier -- 2nd Private Ansar -- sustained a minor injury on his right arm owing to a ricochet or a projectile that struck off a surface, though his condition remains stable, he remarked.

Before launching their acts of terror in Kiwirok, the armed separatist terrorists had recently set some backhoes of state-owned construction company PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA) on fire.

According to Irreuw, they torched the backhoes, used for the Oksibil-Towe Hitam road construction project, as a knee-jerk reaction to the arrests of two of their friends, who attempted to smuggle five firearms into Papua from PNG on Sept 2.

Members of the Lamek Tablo-led armed Papuan separatist terrorist group might have headed to Batom Sub-district in Pegunungan Bintang District, he remarked.

"Hence, I have ordered all personnel, especially those responsible for securing the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea land border, to stay alert," he stated.

Kiwirok and Batom are among the sub-districts of Pegunungan Bintang District that are located near the Indonesia-PNG land border.

Papua has been reeling from armed violence over the past few years.

On August 22, 2021, the Tenius Gwijangge-led terrorist group launched a deadly attack on several construction workers of PT Indo Mulia Baru involved in erecting a bridge over Brazza River in Yahukimo.

Two workers, identified as Rionaldo Ratu Roma and Dedi Imam Pamungkas, died in the attack.

The attackers also set ablaze their bodies and a pick-up truck, according to Director of Papua Police's Criminal Investigation Unit Senior Commissioner Faisal Rahmadani.

Members of the terrorist group also attacked several personnel from the Indonesian Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) unit when they went to the site of the shooting to retrieve the bodies of the deceased workers, he had stated earlier.

Four Brimob personnel sustained minor injuries, he remarked, adding that several construction workers were evacuated to Dekai, the capital of Yahukimo District, for safety reasons.

Members of this Tenius Gwijangge-led terrorist group might have used six firearms, including two 5.56-millimeter caliber SS1-V1 rifles, according to Rahmadani.

The two assault rifles equipped with Trijicon, or optical sighting devices, may belong to the 423 Infantry Battalion (Airborne) of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), he noted.

"Due to the 'Trijicon', the shooters could maintain their precision," he remarked, adding that the four other firearms used by the Tenius Gwijangge-led group could not yet be identified.

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Translator: Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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