Seven civilians were killed in an attack that police said was attributed to pro-independence rebels who opened fire on a gold mine in Indonesia’s Papua region.
According to police, a group of attackers shot at a group of miners in Yahukimo district on Monday afternoon.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but police on Tuesday attributed it to a separatist group led by Egianus Kogoya, a leader of Papua’s independence rebels.
“We will pursue the perpetrators and take legal action against the separatists and Egianus Kogoya,” Faizal Ramadhani, head of a special group set up to pursue separatists in Papua, said in a statement.
About 40 agents sent to recover the bodies and rescue the victims were attacked by the rebels upon their arrival, Mr. Ramadhani said.
“As soon as we got there, our staff came under attack and the shooting lasted for an hour and a half,” he said.
Seven bodies were found at the site and 11 other people were rescued alive, police said, adding that construction equipment, trucks and the miners’ camp were set on fire.
A spokesman for the West Papuan National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the military wing of Papua’s main separatist group, did not immediately respond.
This group is responsible for the February 2023 kidnapping of a New Zealand pilot in Papua.
Papua is an Indonesian region in the west of the island of New Guinea and consists of six provinces.
As the insurgency continues, the region has seen several deadly attacks in recent years. In July 2022, ten people were killed when a rebel group attacked a truck carrying civilians and goods.
In March 2022, eight telecommunications workers were shot dead while installing communications towers in Puncak District.