Indonesia: Armed assailants shot and killed one person in Kimbin Village, Jayawijaya Regency, Highland Papua Province, Aug. 29

Event

Armed assailants shot and killed one civilian in Kimbin Village, Jayawijaya Regency, Highland Papua Province, Aug. 29. The attackers stopped and interrogated the victim, who was an activist, while she was en route to Kwijawagi, and subsequently opened fire at her for allegedly collecting intelligence for the Indonesian government. The West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the separatist Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM), has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kimbin is approximately 18 km (11 miles) northwest of Wamena.

Context

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.