At least 282 residents of Kiwirok sub-district are still taking refuge at GIDI Church in Oksibil, the capital of Pegunungan Bintang district, Papua province, for security reasons, police have said.
The district government has expressed its readiness to facilitate their return to Kiwirok though the exact date for that is not yet available, Pegunungan Bintang Police chief Adjunct Sen.Coms. Cahyo Sukarnito said.
The security situation in Pegunungan Bintang’s areas has relatively remained conducive though several Papuan separatist terrorists operating in the district keep attempting to pose a threat to locals, he added.
On October 24, 2021, for instance, several members of an armed Papuan terrorist group tried to torch the Okbibab junior high school building, Sukarnito said.
Their act of terror was, however, foiled by police’s mobile brigade personnel conducting a routine patrol in the area, he said.
Over the past two months, the Papuan separatist terrorists operating in Pegunungan Bintang areas have repeatedly set buildings on fire, he noted.
The terrorists also launched black propaganda campaigns on social media platforms against Indonesian security personnel, accusing them of torching buildings and bombing areas, he said.
Sukarnito denied the allegations saying that if the security personnel did bomb the areas, they would be destroyed.
On the morning of September 13, 2021, several members of the Lamek Tablo-led separatist terrorist group had reportedly torched several public facilities, including a public health center, and homes in Kiwirok.
The Papuan terrorists reportedly assaulted and tortured several health workers from the Kiwirok Public Health Center.
As a result, one health worker, identified as Gabriela Meilan, died while four others sustained serious injuries. Meilan died after being tortured by the terrorists, said officials.
The separatist terrorists also got into a gunfight with Indonesian security personnel during which one army personnel sustained minor injuries on his right arm after a bullet ricocheted and struck him.
The wounded army personnel was identified as 1st Private Ansar from the 403/WP Infantry Battalion.
The deadly terrorist attack has resulted in the termination of healthcare services at the Kiwirok Public Health Center since September 13, according to a National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) official.
Source: Antara News