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A violent rampage by Indonesian soldiers in the town of Wamena in Papua province has sent thousands of residents fleeing to the bush.
At least one person is confirmed to have been killed and several seriously injured by the soldiers from the Baliem Valley-based Battalion 756.
An Indonesian military spokesman denied anybody had died and accused separatists in the remote town of Wamena of burning their own shops down.
A Catholic priest in Wamena, Franz Lieshout, confirmed the rampage late yesterday, but said that earlier reports by activists of eight dead were not true.
Father Lieshout said a meeting between the warring parties yesterday had soothed the dispute. “The government had a meeting with all the elements of the people here from the churches, from the young people from the different tribes and from the army and they decided that they all want to have peace,” he said. “People are still afraid but the situation now is good.”
The violence reportedly began on Wednesday afternoon after two soldiers from Kostrad, the Indonesian Army’s strategic reserve, ran over a boy playing by the side of the road in the outlying village of Honai Lama. In revenge, the soldiers were dragged from their motorcycle and beaten by villagers. One died after allegedly being stabbed and the other was hospitalised.
When news reached them of their comrade’s death, the soldiers’ battalion mobilised. Papuan witnesses claimed the soldiers opened fire in Wamena using live rounds, firing at anybody appearing to be Papuan. Activist group West Papua Media reported that eight people were dead and 19 injured, with 100 houses set alight by soldiers from Battalion 756.
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