Jayapura (ANTARA) - Police officials on Saturday escorted Gerald Sokoy—a health worker who had been reported missing after an attack launched by separatist terrorists in Kiwirok sub-district, Pegunungan Bintang district—to Sentani sub-district, Jayapura district.

Director of General Criminal Investigation at Papua Regional Police, Senior Commissioner Faizal Ramadhani, told ANTARA in Jayapura that the health worker had arrived in Sentani sub-district.

Sokoy was escorted by the head of the Pegunungan Bintang district, Spei Yan Bidana, and the deputy chief of the Pegunungan Bintang Resort, Police Commissioner Anton Ampang, he informed.

Earlier, Sokoy was picked up in Okhika sub-district and shifted to Oksibil sub-district —the capital of Pegunungan Bintang district, he said.

Furthermore, he will undergo a health check at the Dok II Jayapura Regional Hospital, Ramadhani added.

Related news: Missing health worker yet to be traced: Papua police chief


The health worker had been missing since the September 13, 2021 attack in Kiwirok sub-district, which was mounted by the Ngalum Kupel armed criminal group (KKB) led by Lamek Taplo, officials said.

KKB also engaged in a gun battle with Indonesian Army soldiers, which left one soldier injured.

Meanwhile, the operations commander of the KKB, Elly M Bidana, was killed in the shooting, and two other members of the group were injured, officials said.

Sokoy’s place of work -- the Kiwirok Community Health Center -- was burnt down during the attack, while his colleagues were tortured, they added.

Initially, the health workers had decided to stay in Kiwirok thinking their assistance would be required during the battle, officials said.

One of them -- a nurse named Gabriela Meilan -- fell into a ravine and died while trying to escape KKB members.

Meanwhile, four other workers who were also attacked by KKB were taken to Marthen Indey Hospital in Jayapura city for treatment.

During the attack, the KKB also reportedly set fire to public facilities such as a school, a market, and a bank.

In the aftermath of the attack, the police evacuated 17 civilians from Kiwirok sub-district to Oksibil sub-district on Saturday.

Related news: 17 civilians evacuated from Papua's Kiwirok: police
Related news: Some 11 other residents of Kiwirok evacuated to Oksibil


Translator: Evarukdijati, Uyu Liman
Editor: Suharto
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