Indonesia's National Police Chief says a series of murders in the Papua town of Wamena is linked to a group of armed men waging planned attacks.
This follows the fourth killing of a non-Papuan motorcycle taxi driver in Wamena within a week.
The Jakarta Post reports that unlike other police officials, General Bambang Hendarso Danuri, has not blamed the deaths on the Free Papua Movement, or OPM, separatists.
The latest killing brings the number of deaths in sporadic attacks in Papuan towns this month to 12, notwithstanding the 11 reported deaths from fighting between Indonesian military and alleged separatists on the border with PNG last week.
However, Victor Yeimo of the West Papua National Committee claims a number of these incidents have been instigated by militia groups to give the military, or TNI, an excuse to crack down on so called separatists.
"Last week there was a bomb near the border. And this bomb is not from the OPM but from the TNI. They lied to the public."
Victor Yeimo
