The decision comes on the back of Yudo’s visit to Timika, Papua, to conduct a “very thorough evaluation” of the joint National Police-TNI operation to rescue New Zealand national Phillip Mehrtens from his captors on Monday, in light of the higher number of casualties reported on Tuesday.

The operation, dubbed Peaceful Cartenz, took a turn for the worse on Saturday when a firefight broke out between the separatists and a 36-strong squadron combing the dense and hilly jungle of Nduga’s Mugi-Mam area in search of the captured Susi Air pilot.

West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) guerillas, who have held Mehrtens hostage since February, took responsibility for the attack, claiming to have killed a dozen soldiers.

But Yudo dismissed the rebels’ account, insisting that just one soldier had been killed in combat. He said five others had sustained injuries and another four were unaccounted for.

According to the TNI chief, the four missing personnel are thought to be hiding in the vicinity of the shootout. He said the military had deployed a support team to locate them, while another squadron was securing the area where one soldier died.

“I just returned from the field to assess the situation after the [firefight]. I saw it for myself and can assure you of the actual situation so we can put all the confusion to bed,” he said during a press conference at the Juanda naval air base in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Tuesday.

 

On Monday, the TNI confirmed the death of first private Miftahul Arifin who was shot after falling into a 15-meter ravine.

“We hope to airlift the remains of the fallen [on Wednesday] morning. The site of the ravine has been secured against attacks by the terrorist separatist group,” Yudo said.

On the trip, Yudo was accompanied by Army chief of staff Gen. Dudung Abdurrachman and Army Strategic Reserves commander (Pangkostrad) Lt. Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak.

 

Escalation

Yudo’s decision to raise the force level to “combat ready” was based on what he described as an unprecedented attack on the squadron in which the rebels reportedly involved village officials, as well as local women and children.

“The joint police-TNI squadron was attacked on three fronts. The soldiers may have been caught unaware and hesitated to return fire. They had never experienced such a situation before,” the military commander said.

The TNI claims to have employed a peaceful approach to the rescue operation before Saturday’s firefight, in an effort to keep the local population safe. But the recent shootout has altered the outlook of the operation.

“To deal with such attacks, we will raise the troops’ status to combat ready,” Yudo said, noting that no additional troops would be flown in but only rotated out.

The combat alert status puts the troops in Papua on par with military personnel stationed in the North Natuna Sea, where various illegal fishing vessels operate and skirmishes with Chinese coast guard ships periodically occur.

Even so, the TNI chief said the military was continuing to allow local religious and tribal leaders to negotiate with the hostage takers.

Mehrtens was captured by a cell of the TPNPB led by Egianus Kogoya on Feb. 7 after landing in Nduga. His aircraft was set on fire and several passengers were also taken, although they were later released.

The group, linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM), initially said it would only release Mehrtens in return for government recognition of Papuan independence and the withdrawal of all troops from the region.

 

But OPM spokesman Sebby Sambom said earlier this month that the group was ready to drop those demands and was instead pushing for dialogue, Reuters reported.

Resource-rich Papua has been plagued by severe underdevelopment and exploitation, which has galvanized a separatist movement that has simmered in the background for decades.

Skirmishes are becoming increasingly common in the region, as the death toll continues to rise.

Last week, another TNI soldier, first sergeant Robertus Simbolon, was killed in a shootout with another separatist group in Intan Jaya regency, Central Papua.

He was the fifth casualty from the Indonesian side this year, adding to the three other TNI personnel and one National Police officer who were killed in shootouts in the Papua Highlands and Central Papua provinces.