We hope no more people will fall victim to violence
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian National Police is planning to implement a prosperity-based approach under Operation Nemangkawi in Papua Province in 2022, according to a spokesperson.

To this end, the Nemangkawi Task Force is preparing whatever is necessary for implementing the prosperity-based approach, National Police spokesperson Brig.Gen. Ahmad Ramadhan said.

The task force's operational period has been extended until January 25, 2022, following the end of its second operational phase on December 31, 2021, he noted in a statement that ANTARA received here Wednesday.

The prosperity-based approach will be adopted by taking into account the outcomes of analysis and evaluation of last year's Operation Nemangkawi that the National Police jointly conducted, he said.

"We hope no more people will fall victim to violence," he said, adding that the Nemangkawi Task Force personnel will prioritize preventive and preemptive actions through community service programs.

Operation Nemangkawi was launched in 2019 following the massacre of 31 workers of PT Istaka Karya in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi sub-district, Nduga district, on December 2, 2018.

Papuan separatist terrorists, who were believed to be behind the brutal killings of the Trans Papua construction workers, also killed a soldier, identified as Handoko, and injured two other security personnel, Sugeng and Wahyu, according to reports.

Papua has been witness to a repeated cycle of violence, with armed groups in the districts of Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak targeting civilians and security personnel over the past few years.

Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September, 2020, with 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.

The acts of terror have continued in 2021. On January 10, 2021, for instance, an Indonesian soldier died in a gunfight in the Titigi area of Intan Jaya district.

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.

Nugraha died of gunshot wounds sustained in the attack.

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Translator: Laily R, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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