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Shootings escalate in Papua
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Security officers from the "Amole Task Force" are on standby at Mile 61 in Tembagapura in Mimika, Papua, on Sept. 24. Two vehicles belonging to mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia were shot at by unknown assailants while traveling to the mining area at Mile 61. (Photo courtesy of/Papua Police)
T
he Papua Police and Cendrawasih Military Command are bracing for a possible outbreak of violence following a series of shootings around the mining site of PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) in Tembagapura, Mimika.
The police have issued the highest security alert, known as Siaga 1, effective on Sunday, to step up vigilance against rising gun attacks.
The latest shooting incident occurred on Sunday, when a group of unidentified gunmen fired at a Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) station at Mile 66, Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said on Monday.
“The group keeps spreading terror and has caused unrest among locals, [PTFI] employees, as well as security personnel. So, we instruct all police and military personnel stationed in the area to be on the highest alert,” he said.
The escalating number of shooting incidents in the world’s biggest integrated gold-mining site comes at a time when the government is intensifying its demand to PTFI’s parent company, US-based mining giant Freeport McMoran (FCX), to sell its controlling stake to local entities.
Last week, Brimob officer First. Brig. Berry Pramana Putra was killed in an exchange of fire with unidentified gunmen on Utikini bridge in Tembagapura. The incident occurred when Brimob personnel stationed in Timika were pursuing a group of armed assailants suspected to be behind security disturbances at PTFI’s mining area in recent months.
