KKB Papua Sandera Karyawan setelah Tembak Mati Warga di Yahukimo
Papua Rebels Take Hostages after Killing Civilians: Indonesian Officials
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
KELOMPOK Kriminal Bersenjata [KKB] di Papua diketahui juga menyandera empat warga sipil di Kampung Pingky, Kabupaten Yahukimo, yang dilakukan setelah KKB menembak beberapa pekerja konstruksi dalam sebuah penyergapan, kata pihak berwenang Jumat [25/6].
Ketegangan meningkat antara pasukan keamanan Indonesia dan KKB yang memerangi pemberontakan selama beberapa dekade.
Kepolisian RI [Polri] mengatakan sekitar 30 pemberontak pada Kamis [24/6] melepaskan tembakan ke sekelompok pekerja konstruksi Indonesia yang membangun rumah baru di kabupaten Yahukimo, menewaskan sedikitnya empat orang.
Operasi penyelamatan untuk menemukan empat orang lagi yang disandera oleh KKB sedang berlangsung, kata Kabid Humas Polda Papua, Kombes Pol Ahmad Musthofa Kamal.
"Tim kami sedang dalam perjalanan ke lokasi," kata Kamal kepada AFP seperti dilansir MailOnline, Jumat.
Tidak jelas apakah semua sandera adalah pekerja konstruksi.
Seorang juru bicara pemberontak tidak dapat dihubungi untuk dimintai komentar dan AFP tidak dapat memverifikasi akun tersebut secara independen.
Ketegangan di wilayah yang dilanda konflik telah meningkat dalam beberapa bulan terakhir, diselingi oleh bentrokan mematikan setelah pemberontak membunuh Kepala Badan Intelijen Negara [Kabinda] Papua pada April lalu.
Pemerintah RI menanggapi dengan menuding KKB sebagai "teroris", yang memicu kekhawatiran bahwa hal itu dapat membuka pintu bagi lebih banyak kekerasan dan pelanggaran hak.
Undang-undang Anti Terorisme memberikan kewenangan yang lebih besar kepada pihak berwenang, termasuk menahan tersangka selama beberapa minggu tanpa tuntutan resmi.
Insiden terbaru terjadi lebih dari dua tahun setelah pemberontak Papua membunuh 17 pekerja konstruksi di sebuah kamp hutan terpencil.
Penembakan tersebut menandai eskalasi dalam beberapa dekade, sebagian besar pertempuran sporadis antara gerilyawan bersenjata dan tidak terorganisir dengan militer Indonesia yang telah lama dituduh melakukan pelanggaran berat hak asasi manusia terhadap warga sipil.
SEPARATIST rebels were holding four civilians hostage in the jungles of Indonesia's breakaway Papua region after they killed several construction workers in an ambush, authorities said Friday.
Tensions have been mounting between Indonesian security forces and guerrillas fighting a decades-long insurgency to win independence from the Southeast Asian nation.
Authorities said some 30 rebels opened fire Thursday on a group of Indonesian construction workers building new homes in the province's central Yahukimo regency, killing at least four people.
Rescue operations to find another four people being held hostage by the rebels are underway, according to the military and Papua police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal.
"Our team is on their way to the site," Kamal told AFP on Friday.
It was not clear if all of the hostages were construction workers.
A rebel spokesman could not be reached for comment and AFP was unable to independently verify the account.
Tensions in the conflict-wracked region have soared in recent months, punctuated by deadly clashes after rebels killed Indonesia's top intelligence chief in Papua in April.
Jakarta responded by formally designating Papuan separatists as "terrorists", sparking fears it could open the door to more violence and rights abuses.
Indonesia's counter-terrorism laws give authorities enhanced powers, including holding suspects for several weeks without formal charges.
The latest incident comes more than two years after Papuan rebels killed 17 construction workers at a remote jungle camp.
The massacre marked an escalation in decades of mostly sporadic skirmishes between poorly armed and disorganised guerrillas and an Indonesian military long accused of gross human rights abuses against civilians.
A former Dutch colony, mineral-rich Papua declared itself independent in 1961, but neighbouring Jakarta took control two years later promising an independence referendum.
The subsequent vote in favour of staying part of Indonesia was widely considered a sham.
Papua's Melanesian population shares few cultural connections with the rest of Indonesia.
