Papua Police Recover 11 Miners Bodies After Rebel Attack
Lamseen – Papua’s regional police chief, Inspector General Patrige Renwarin, confirmed the retrieval of 11 bodies belonging to gold miners killed in a brutal separatist attack in Highland Papua on April 6, 2025. An armed separatist group operating in remote mountainous areas ambushed and killed the victims, who had been working as illegal miners. Authorities recovered 10 bodies from four illegal mining sites in Yahukimo district and found another in Pegunungan Bintang district during a challenging evacuation.
Renwarin provided the update during a ceremony for new resort police chiefs in Jayapura. He explained that officials transported the retrieved bodies from Yahukimo to a public hospital in Dekai for forensic identification. Officials have positively identified two victims so far, while they continue to work on confirming the identities of the remaining bodies. The police continue to coordinate with local health officials and families to complete the identification process while expanding the investigation into the attackers’ network.
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The Papua Regional Police transported the body of one miner, killed in Pegunungan Bintang district, to Boven Digoel in South Papua province for identification and handover to relatives. Inspector General Patrige Renwarin stated that authorities will complete proper identification and then release the remains to the families so they can proceed with burial rites.
Although officers have successfully retrieved 11 bodies so far, the evacuation mission remains active. Police continue investigating to determine if more victims remain undiscovered, amid concerns that the death toll may surpass initial estimates. Efforts are ongoing to verify all reports from the remote mining locations affected by the separatist attack.
Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry has firmly rejected claims by the separatist group responsible for the killings. The group alleged that the deceased were undercover military intelligence agents. The ministry confirmed that the separatist group targeted and killed 11 unarmed civilians who were engaged in illegal mining, not disguised military personnel.
Brigadier General Frega Wenas Inkiriwang, Head of the Information Bureau at Indonesia’s Ministry of Defense, reaffirmed the government’s unwavering stance on maintaining law and order through peaceful and legal avenues when dealing with separatist movements in Papua. Speaking on Thursday, he underlined that Indonesia remains committed to diplomacy and constitutional processes in addressing the unrest in the region.
Inkiriwang clarified that military personnel deployed in Papua strictly secure the area and protect civilians from threats, especially in conflict-prone districts. He firmly denied accusations made by separatist groups that claimed members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) were participating in illegal gold mining operations.
He described the allegations as entirely baseless and misleading, intended to create public distrust and fuel tensions in Papua. The general emphasized that the TNI does not engage in commercial activities and is committed to upholding its duty as a neutral and protective force in the region.
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