Papuan villagers displaced by armed conflict in the Highlands are desperate for food, shelter and basic needs.
Since late last year Papua's Central Highlands has been the focus of the most serious escalation of violence experienced for years in the Indonesian-ruled region.
Indonesia's military recently deployed an extra 600 soldiers to Papua to join hundreds of troops already in the Highlands in pursuit of the West Papua Liberation Army.
This is in response to the Liberation Army's massacre of at least 16 Indonesian road workers in Nduga regency last year.
The ensuing military response, including exchanges with the Liberation Army, has caused dozens of death and prompted many villagers to flee to the bush or neighbouring regencies.
An Indonesian academic, Hipolitus YR Wangge of Jakarta's Marthinus Academy, has been working on research in Papua and found himself volunteering help for Nduga's refugees streaming into Jayawijaya's main town of Wamena.
He spoke to Johnny Blades about the plight of the displaced people.
West Papua Liberation Army monitoring Indonesian military flyover in Nduga, 11 July 2018. Photo: TPNPB
