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At least one killed in Papua gunfight

At least one person — but possibly two — was killed in a gunfight between Indonesian security personnel and a number of Papuans aged 11 to 30, whom the security personnel described as members of an armed criminal group, in the regency of Intan Jaya, Papua, early on Tuesday

Benny Mawel (The Jakarta Post)
Jayapura
Thu, February 20, 2020

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At least one killed in Papua gunfight

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span>At least one person — but possibly two — was killed in a gunfight between Indonesian security personnel and a number of Papuans aged 11 to 30, whom the security personnel described as members of an armed criminal group, in the regency of Intan Jaya, Papua, early on Tuesday.

The gunfight that took place at 7:20 a.m. on Tuesday around the residential areas of Gulanggama kampung and the Japaro complex also apparently left an adult and a child with bullet wounds.

“The incidence occurred when a joint law enforcement task force [Satgas Gakkum] of the Indonesian Military and National Police was conducting a patrol. They saw members of a separatist criminal group around Gulanggama kampung carrying two firearms,” Cendrawasih Regional Military Command spokesman Col. Eko Daryanto said in a press statement on Wednesday.

When the security personnel spotted the armed adults and children, they quickly gave chase. Eventually, the security personnel and the civilians began shooting at each other. Afterward, the surviving adults and children fled into a valley and forested area in the direction of Ugimba, another settlement in the regency.

After the gunfight, the security team explored the location.

“When checking the site, the security personnel found a dead body, which was later identified as Meki Tipagau,” Eko said, adding that he had been about 18 years old.

The military spokesman claimed the security personnel had to shoot Meki because he had been holding one of the firearms.

According to the military source, the firearm Meki was carrying could not be found because it had apparently been taken by another member of the group.

Eko said a 14-year-old girl had been shot in her left leg, but he claimed her own companions were most likely responsible because he said they had been randomly shooting from the valley toward higher ground.

During the security patrol, the security personnel said they found a laptop, a cellular phone, a two-way radio, two handmade firearms, a facsimile machine and a bow with some arrows.

Despite the military's claim that the person soldiers and police shot dead was an 18-year-old named Meki Tipagau, a local news website reported that the fatality was actually a 12-year-old named Melkias Tipagau, a grade 6 student at SD YPPK Bilogai elementary school.

YPPK Bilogai principal Stefanus Sondegau confirmed to The Jakarta Post that a boy of that name from Galunggama kampung attended his school, but he was unsure of his condition. “I have a student named Melkias Tipagau, but I have to check it first if the dead victim is really my student,” he said.

The website further contradicted the Satgas Gakkum by reporting a second fatality it identified as Kayus Sani, 51, who had been shot in the chest. Meanwhile, the site also claimed that two people — not one — were injured during the gunfight: Heletina Sani, 30, and a girl who was 11 years old, not 14. The report said the child was flown to Timika to have a bullet removed from her leg.

In response to the conflicting reports, military spokesman Eko said he would confirm the information from the field. “We are still collecting information [to determine] whether it is correct or not,” Eko said.

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