Three caskets were sent to Makassar, South Sulawesi, and three others to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, while two more coffins were flown to Medan, North Sumatra, and Palu, Central Sulawesi, respectively.
According to Mimika Police Chief Adjunct Sen.Coms I Gede Putra, nine civilians were shot dead by the Egianus Kogoya-led terrorists in Nogolaid Village, Kenyam Sub-district, Nduga District, Papua, on Saturday.
Eight of the nine dead victims had been sent to their families who live outside Papua. They were buried in their respective hometowns while the other one had been buried in Timika, he said.
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The dead victims are identified as Priest Elias Serbaye (54), Yulius Watu (23), Habertus Goti (41), Daeng Maramli (41), Taufan Amir (42), Johan (26), Alex (45), Yuda Hurusinga (27), and Sirajudin (27).
During the fatal shooting incident, two civilians, identified as Sudirman and Hasdin, survived but sustained gunshot wounds. They are currently in stable condition, and have received medical treatment, he added.
Over the past few years, armed Papuan groups have often employed hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel and mounted acts of terror against civilians in the districts of Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak to instil fear among the people.
The targets of such acts of terror have included construction workers, motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers, teachers, nurses, doctors, students, street food vendors, and even civilian aircraft.
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On March 2, 2022, for instance, several members of an armed Papuan group operating in Beoga Sub-district, Puncak District, killed eight Palaparing Timur Telematika (PTT) workers, who were repairing a base transceiver station (BTS) tower of state-owned telecommunications operator Telkomsel.
The workers were identified by their initials as B, R, BN, BT, J, E, S, and PD. Another worker, identified as NS, survived the deadly assault, according to Papua Police spokesperson Senior Commissioner Ahmad Kamal.
The killing of PTT workers is not the first such attack in the eastern Indonesian province.
On December 2, 2018, a group of armed Papuan terrorists had brutally killed 31 PT Istaka Karya workers, who were working on the Trans Papua project in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi Sub-district, Nduga District.
The terror group launching the brutal killings also slew a soldier, identified as Handoko, and injured two other security personnel, Sugeng and Wahyu.
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Translator: Evarukdijati, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
