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efense Minister Gen. (ret.) Ryamizard Ryacudu announced on Friday that the military (TNI) had dismissed top commanders within the Bukit Barisan Command following an armed attack by soldiers on the Riau Islands Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) headquarters in Batam last week.

But Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo was quick to deny the statement, urging all parties not to jump to conclusions and to wait for the outcome of the ongoing investigation to determine those responsible for the incident that killed a soldier.

Both made their statements separately at the Bogor Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, during a meeting of TNI commanders with President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Ryamizard, former Army chief of staff between 2002 and 2005, said that the dismissal of Bukit Barisan military commander Maj. Gen. Winston Simanjuntak and Batam district commander Lt. Col. Josep Tarada Sidabutar was in line with the President'€™s instruction demanding strict punishment that would serve as a deterrent to other officers.

'€œThe [Bukit Barisan] commander has been relieved of his duties, as has the [Batam] district commander,'€ said Ryamizard.

'€œThe President has affirmed that the perpetrators should be punished. They can be moved or fired based on their roles and responsibility,'€ he said.

Dozens of members of the Army'€™s 134 Tuah Sakti infantry ambushed and opened fire on the police headquarters in Batam, Riau Islands, on Nov. 21, after they had vandalized the building hours before.

The incident, which lasted for almost seven hours, killed one soldier, identified as First Pvt. Jack Marpaung, and injured a civilian, Kambani, who owns a nearby stall.

The conflict dates back to a Sept. 21 clash between Brimob personnel and soldiers following an attempted police raid on a suspected illegal fuel-storage facility in Batam. Four members of the 134 Tuah Sakti infantry sustained gunshot wounds in the clash.

Despite the blatant attack, Gatot insisted that the TNI was not to blame.

He said that he could not immediately make any decisions on the matter until the completion of the investigation by the TNI and the National Police.

'€œThere has been no decision yet on the fate of the commanders. We have to wait for the outcome of the investigation,'€ he said.

'€œI cannot just dismiss them. Such processes should be based on regulations. They can file a lawsuit against me [if they reject the dismissal],'€ he said.

Bukit Barisan Command spokesman Col. Samuel Petrus Hehakaya said that the command had received no official letter yet on the dismissal of commander Winston Simanjuntak, who assumed the post in September. '€œThere has been no order yet from our superiors.'€

Bukit Barisan, headquartered in Medan, North Sumatra, covers all military operations and supervision in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau and Riau Islands.

Fadli in Batam also contributed to the story