Indonesia: Armed assailants kill three people in Yasoma Village, Nduga Regency, Highland Papua Province, Aug. 16

Event

Armed assailants shot and killed three civilians in Yasoma Village, Nduga Regency, Highland Papua Province, Aug. 16. According to reports, the attackers set fire to a truck that the victims were traveling in before opening fire. Two of the victims were government workers. The motive for the attack remains unclear.

Nduga Regency is approximately 22 km (14 miles) southwest of Wamena.

Context

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, authorities have attributed the incident to an "armed criminal group” (Kelompok Kriminal Bersenjata, KKB), a term typically used to refer to the separatist Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM). The OPM has been engaging in a low-level insurgency for Papuan independence since the 1960s; the Indonesian government has designated the KKB as a terrorist organization. The organization typically targets 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 incident highlights the threat posed by armed groups in the region and points 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.