Separatists in Indonesia's West Papua kill 4-Xinhua

Separatists in Indonesia's West Papua kill 4

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-09-30 19:37:00

JAKARTA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people working on building a road in Indonesia's province of West Papua were attacked by armed separatists, with four of the workers shot dead, a spokesman of the provincial police confirmed on Friday.

Adam Erwindi told local media that the attack took place on Thursday night, and a number of personnel have been deployed immediately at the scene to rescue other victims who were still not found.

The West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was part of their struggle for independence from Indonesia, which they accused of conducting a genocidal campaign against indigenous communities in Papua.

The OPM has been seeking independence through guerrilla wars in the past several decades, targeting soldiers, police personnel as well as civilians.