Jayapura, Jubi – The armed contacts occurred before what it was said ‘evacuation of civilians’ in Banti and Kimbeli were justified by Hendrik Wanmang, Commander of Operation of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) III Timika.
“Two of our members were wounded in a shootout last morning,” Hendrik Wanmang said briefly to Jubi via telephone on Saturday (November 18).
But another source said the two TPN-PB members were killed in a firefight that Friday morning. They were Ilame Tabuni and Yuliana Waker.
There were no casualties or gunshot wounds on the side of the TNI/Police, as well as the residents who were evacuated from Kampung Banti and Kimbeli.
“There is no casualty among civilians in the community,” said Papua Police Chief Irjenpol Boy Rafli Amar in an official video released by Police Public Relations on Friday, November 17, 2017.
The evacuation process of civilians by the armed forces task force started at 07.00 AM local time through a ‘taken over of the two villages’ at 9.30 and lasted until 12:00 local time.
Reported by CNN Indonesia, around 07.00 am, Kampung Kimbeli has been controlled by Kopassus 13 and Raider 751 troops while Banti village is controlled by two teams from Taipur Kostrad. After these two villages being controlled by TNI units joined in the Armed Forces Task Force, the ‘evacuation process’ is carried out.
A Papuan legislator, Laurens Kadepa hopes the activities will not be a pretext for TNI/POLRI effort to carry out attacks in villages suspected of being a TPN-PB hiding place.
“The evacuation of non-Papuans to Tembagapura (hopefully) is not an attempt by TNI/POLRI to carry out sporadic attacks by land or air to the villages suspected to be members of TPN-PB hiding place, since there are many civillians in in every village,” Kadepa said. (tabloidjubi/Zely)
