Indonesia: Criminal armed group attack kills one person in Beoga District, Puncak Regency, Papua Province, Nov. 8

Event

Members of an armed criminal group (KKB) staged an attack that killed at least one person and injured three others in Julukoma Village, Beoga District, Puncak Regency, Papua Province the morning of Nov. 8. Reports indicate that the assailants opened fire at the victims, who were construction workers building a community health center in the village. The motive for the attack remains unclear.

The incident site is around 50 km (31 miles) northeast of Timika.

Context

KKB group attacks which kill civilians are relatively rare, as the organizations typically target Indonesian soldiers and police officers, as well as workers and infrastructure of state-owned public facilities and foreign-owned resource extraction companies, specifically PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI). The incidents point to the continued tension between Indonesian authorities and people in Papua, who claim that the Indonesian central government racially discriminates against Papuans and that it does not sufficiently develop the provinces' infrastructure. The KKB also previously attacked and set fire to a mining camp in Kawe Village, Awimbon District, Pegunungan Bintang Regency, Nov. 5, which killed one person.