9 troops from the army, according to rebels in Indonesia’s Papua

Following Jakarta’s failure to respond to a plea for discussions, separatist insurgents assassinated nine members of the army. Earlier this month, the group claimed they were willing to back off that demand and were open to negotiation instead of their earlier demand that Jakarta recognize the region’s independence.

Nine members of the army were executed by separatist rebels in Indonesia’s Papua area on Sunday after Jakarta rejected their plea for discussions, according to a rebel spokesperson.

Herman Taryaman, a military spokesman in Papua, acknowledged the strike on Saturday but was unable to provide an exact death toll due to communication problems brought on by severe weather.

In February, a New Zealand pilot was kidnapped by the West Papua National Liberation Army. The group had first demanded that Jakarta recognize the region’s independence, but this month they told Reuters they were ready to back down and were looking to engage in conversation instead.

Sebby Sambom, a rebel spokeswoman, stated in a taped statement on Sunday, “We asked the Indonesian and New Zealand governments to free the hostages through peaceful negotiations.”

But on March 23, the Indonesian military and police attacked citizens. Because of this, the TPNPB troops had threatened to exact revenge, and they had already begun,” Sambom added, noting that the conflict was still going on Sunday.

Herman refuted the claim that people were attacked in March, claiming that the security forces were shielding civilians from the rebels’ repulsion.

Herman said, “Efforts to provide assistance and evacuation are still being carried out,” and he pleaded for rosaries for the soldiers searching for Phillip Mehrtens, the captured Susi Air pilot.

The remote and resource-rich Papua region has been engaged in a long-running, low-key struggle for independence from Indonesia, observers say, with the confrontation between armed rebels and security forces escalating considerably in recent years.

Since a contentious UN-supervised vote in 1969 that resulted in Indonesian control being purchased over the former Dutch territory, tensions have been building.