Despite the intensified alertness, Mimika Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner IGG Era Adhinata said that the security situation in Mimika of late has been under control.
"The current security situation in Mimika is safe, and residents are also supportive of our actions to ensure security and peace in the region. We will maintain our vigilance to any potential security threats," Adhinata stated in Timika, Mimika District, Papua, on Saturday.
The police chief highlighted family or tribal feuds as the greatest threat currently to public security in the region, saying prompt reports to police have proved to be key in defusing the potential escalation of the feuds into full-scale conflicts.
From 2017 until 2020, security forces in Mimika have taken on several armed groups based in mountainous areas who occupied several villages in Tembagapura Sub-district, he said.
One of the major terror attacks perpetrated by the armed groups was the attack on a Freeport office in Kuala Kencana on March 30, 2020, which resulted in the death of one New Zealander and left several workers injured, the police chief noted.
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"The armed criminal groups were initially concentrated in Mimika region, but security task forces successfully have repelled the armed groups. The security task forces have been very helpful to Mimika Police, particularly as our personnel and forces are limited," Adhinata said.
Terror attacks perpetrated by armed Papuan separatist terrorists against police and military forces stationed at Pegunungan Bintang district, Maybrat district, and other regions in Papua and West Papua provinces have continued into this month, he added.
The police chief also reiterated the importance of collaboration between the military, the police, and the intelligence forces for swift detection of armed groups' movement and for planning counter-measures and repelling security threats.
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Translator: Evarianus Supar, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
