Published on 5/21/2026
The Indonesian army said on Thursday that what it called armed separatist groups killed 8 civilians in the Yahokimo region in the mountainous province of Papua, far east of the country.
A military official said that the victims were working in gold mines in the area, noting that evacuations of bodies were still underway. He condemned the attack, which he described as a “criminal act.”
For its part, the “West Papua National Liberation Army” – an armed separatist group – claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming that the dead were intelligence members who camouflaged themselves as miners.
The group called on the Indonesian government to stop sending military personnel to Papua undercover as civilian workers, whether in the mining sector or in other jobs such as taxi driving.
On the other hand, the military official denied these allegations, stressing that the dead were civilians, and that the security forces continued to pursue the perpetrators of the attack. He added that the Yahokimo area had become more dangerous following the accident, but it was still under control.
Papua province, rich in natural resources, has been witnessing an insurgency since its incorporation into Indonesia following a vote in 1969 supervised by the United Nations.
