The Nemangkawi Task Force personnel shot a Papuan separatist terrorist in a gunfight that broke out in Pisiga village, Intan Jaya district, Papua province, around 2:15 p.m. local time on Monday.

The terrorist has been identified as Marten Belau, the task force’s chief, Senior Commissioner Ahmad Musthofa Kamal, said in a statement that ANTARA received here on Monday.

The gunfight broke out while the Nemangkawi Task Force personnel were conducting a search to identify the whereabouts of Papuan separatist terrorists operating in the area, he added.

“In the aftermath of the gunfight, Intan Jaya district’s situation is conducive,” he said without elaborating whether Belau died or survived with gunshot wounds.

Police officers and army personnel are jointly conducting routine patrols and strengthening safeguards in high-risk areas to restrict separatist terrorists’ movements, he disclosed.

“We urge all members of the local community to assist efforts to keep Intan Jaya’s situation safe and secure,” Kamal said.

He also asked members of armed groups operating in Papua to surrender if they do not want to be hunted down by security personnel.

Papua has borne witness to a spate of violence against civilians and security personnel in the past few years.

Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September 2020, with notorious armed groups launching a series of attacks that claimed the lives of two soldiers and two civilians and left two others injured.

The armed groups have continued their acts of terror this year, too.

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.

Source: Antara News