27 Jan 2014

Residents in Papua fear being on streets after shootings

2:53 pm on 27 January 2014

There are more reports of shootings in Indonesia's Papua region, with claims that people are in fear of being on the streets and cannot get to church.

Step Magazine reports locals have reacted cautiously to a firefight on Friday that killed one Indonesian soldier and three Papuan guerrilla fighters.

The Associated Press in Indonesia reports a spokesperson for the Indonesian army said the clash broke out on Friday when about 25 soldiers and police launched a security operation in Puncak Jaya, near the site of the copper and gold mine operated by US firm Freeport McMoRan.

The Papuan newspaper Tabloid Jubi has reported there was another shooting on Sunday, but did not provide any details of deaths or injuries.

The Bintang Papua site says the rebel OPM, or Free Papua Movement, fired on Indonesian military soldiers and injured at least one of them.