JAKARTA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least seven civilians working in a traditional gold mine in the eastern Indonesian province of Highland Papua have died in an ambush by armed insurgents, a police officer told local media on Wednesday.
Operation Cartenzs' Peace, the country's special task force formed to counter separatists in Papua region, said that rebels attacked a total of 27 people in a gold mine in Yahukimo Regency on Monday afternoon.
The task force had information about the attack after finding out nine of them managed to run to nearby police outposts on Tuesday evening.
More than 40 personnel were later deployed to evacuate other victims with a shootout between officers and the rebels lasting for more than one hour. The task force said rebels also destroyed excavators and trucks at the gold mine.
The task force's spokesperson Bayu Suseno said the 20 survivors were currently under treatment at Yakuhimo police station while officers sought further information to identify the attackers.
The fighters were allegedly members of the Free Papua Movement, which has long engaged in rebellion and sought diplomatic ways to separate from Indonesia. The Free Papua Movement frequently targeted civilians, police and soldiers in Papua region, leaving casualties. ■
