17 Civilians Evacuated From Kiwirok To Oksibil District

3 children evacuated from Kiwirok/ Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - The Chief of the Bintang Mountains Resort Police has evacuated 17 civilians from Kiwirok District, Bintang Mountains Regency, Papua Province, Saturday, September 25, morning. All three of them are children.

After evacuating 17 civilians, the police confirmed that there were no more non-native Papuans in Kiwirok.

The head of the Bintang Mountains Resort Police AKBP Cahyo Sukarnito said the evacuation process of residents from Kiwirok to Oksibil was carried out using a small Smart Air plane in two flights.

"The evacuation took place safely and smoothly, without any problems," AKBP Cahyo Sukarnito, quoting Antara, Saturday, September 25.

Cahyo added that residents who were evacuated from Kiwirok were temporarily accommodated at the Bintang Mountains Resort Police Headquarters in Oksibil.

Previously, it was reported that the security of the Kiwirok District had been disturbed since Monday, September 13, when the armed criminal group (KKB) Ngalum Kupel led by Lamek Taplo was involved in a gun battle with the security forces.

In the shootout, a soldier was injured, KKB operations commander Ngalum Kupel Elly M Bidana was killed, and two KKB members were injured.

KKB members were also reported to have set fire to public facilities and attacked health workers in Kiwirok.

A health worker died because he fell into a ravine while trying to run away to escape persecution by KKB members and four other people who were victims of attacks by KKB members had to undergo treatment at Marthen Indey Hospital in Jayapura.