Ministry Of Defense: The Process Of Evacuating Civilian Victims From KKB In Yahukimo Is Still Ongoing

Karo Infohan Secretariat General of the Ministry of Defense (Kemhan) Brigadier General Frega Wenas Inkiriwang at the Ministry of Defense office, Central Jakarta, Monday (10/3/2025). ANTARA/Walda Marison

The Ministry of Defense (Kemenhan) said the process of evacuating civilians victims of the Armed Criminal Group (KKB) attack in Yahukimo Regency, Papua, until this Thursday was still ongoing because the distance of the nearest post was quite far from the location of the incident.

Head of the Information and Public Relations Bureau of the Ministry of Defense, Frega Wenas, said the government and the TNI prioritized the police to address the KKB attack because the victims who arose were civilians.

"We are collaborating with all parties, both with law enforcement, local governments and all stakeholders in Papua to maintain stability there," Frega said at the Ministry of Defense Office, Jakarta, Antara, Thursday, April 10.

The deployment of police officers to evacuate because the victims were civilians. Because, he said, the KKB accused that the mining returners who were victims were spy agents from the TNI.

"It is difficult when there are organizations that have the ideology of wanting to possibly liberate themselves and may have a certain agenda, eventually hitting even civilians until they are called intelligence agents. And this is not true," he said.

He explained that there were 11 civilians who died as a result of the KKB attack. According to him, the dozens of victims were illegal miners who were sadistically killed by the KKB.

He said the narrative that arose regarding the victim being an agent of the TNI was false information. The involvement of the TNI in Papua, he said, also served in the education, economic, welfare sector, in addition to maintaining the security and sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia.

"Disinformation or malinformation, it is indeed a misappropriation of information carried out to damage and mislead thoughts or perceptions who see or may read," he said.