2 TNI Soldiers Shot in Armed Group Attack in Papua

Jayapura ★ Two Indonesian Military officers were injured after yet another exchange of gunfire on Friday between the military and an armed group suspected to be part of the Free Papua Movement in Puncak Jaya district, Papua.

The two soldiers were identified as Polang Harahap and Rahman Hakim, who were shot in the forehead and right shoulder, respectively, after an armed group ambushed a military (TNI) outpost in Gurage village, Puncak Jaya on Friday afternoon. The assailants managed to flee the scene.“

‘[Both injured soldiers] are being evacuated to Mulia Hospital,” Lt. Col. Rikas Hidayatullah, spokesman for the Papua military command, said on Friday. “Other [TNI] members are chasing after the shooters. We don’t know yet if anyone [from the attackers] was injured.

”The village of Gurage  is located near the Tingginambut area, where a faction of Papua’s separatist group, or OPM, led by Goliat Tabuni is known to launch attacks on Indonesian security personnel.

  ★ The Jakarta Globe