5 Papuan independence fighters killed in clash in Indonesia’s restive Papua region

By ALFIAN KARTONO
Associated Press

JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — Police and rebels say that five Papuan independence fighters were killed in a clash between security forces and a rebel group in Indonesia’s restive Papua region. A joint military and police force killed five of the Papuan fighters from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, in a battle on Saturday with dozens of rebels from Bintang Timur division armed with military-grade weapons as well as axes and arrows in the hilly Serambakon village of Papua Highland province. Saturday’s fighting was the latest in a series of violent incidents in recent years in Papua, where conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common.