The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsSix suspected OPM rebels arrested amid rising violence targeting civilians
The arrests follow a sharp escalation in violent incidents between Indonesian security forces and OPM's armed wing, the TPNPB, that has left several civilians dead and kidnapped.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
A group of rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army-Papua Freedom Organization (TPNPB-OPM) gathered behind a couple, identified as Kumis Kogoya and Seli Wenda, before their execution-style killing on July 21 along the Trans Papua Highway in Seradala District, Yahukimo regency, Papua Highlands. The rebels killed a total of three civilians in execution-style shootings, accusing the victims of being intelligence agents for the Indonesian government. (Courtesy of Koops Habema/-)
S
ecurity forces have arrested six people across Papua over alleged links to the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM), amid an increase in violence targeting civilians in the region.
On Saturday, Indonesian Military (TNI) forces arrested Abdon Kisamdu, identified as the deputy battalion commander of of OPM's Bintang Timur unit, shortly after he disembarked from a commercial flight at Nop Goliat Airport in Dekai, Yahukimo Regency, Papua Highlands.
Lt. Gen. Lucky Avianto, commander of Joint Defense Regional Command III (Kogabwilhan III), said that during initial questioning, Kisamdu admitted he had traveled to Dekai to negotiate a firearms deal.
"Kisamdu confessed to TNI personnel that his purpose in travelling to Dekai was to conduct a purchase of several firearms from an individual in the Kali Seng area of Yahukimo," Avianto said on Sunday as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Military officers also uncovered chat records on Kisamdu's mobile phone allegedly detailing the planned transaction.
Authorities are analyzing the evidence as part of an ongoing investigation to map out his network and wider activities, officials added.
Read also: Police hunt OPM rebels after civil servants murdered in Papua Highlands
