Hundreds of students have fled fighting in Indonesia's restive Papua province, a local NGO said, amid unconfirmed reports of violent military reprisals after a massacre of civilian workers by separatist rebels.The death of 16 government-linked employees at a remote jungle work camp in early December, marked a dramatic escalation from decades of mostly sporadic skirmishes between poorly armed and disorganised guerrillas and a powerful Indonesian military.Subsequent clashes prompted the Nd

The recent massacre of civilian workers by separatist rebels in Indonesia's restive Papua province has cast a spotlight on one of the world's longest-running insurgencies, with no end to the bloody conflict in sight.The killings are a marked escalation from decades of mostly sporadic skirmishes between poorly armed and disorganised guerrillas and a powerful Indonesian military accused of gross human rights abuses against civilians.Some 16 employees of a state-owned contractor were m

Construction workers massacred at a remote jungle work camp in Papua were legitimate military targets, a rebel group said Friday, as authorities hunted for more bodies after the grisly weekend attack which killed at least 16.The National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB) has claimed responsibility for the deadliest bout of violence in years to hit Papua, an Indonesian-controlled region wracked by a low-level independence insurgency."(We killed them) because they were members of the I

Indonesian soldiers hunted Wednesday for rebels suspected of killing as many as two dozen construction workers in a restive Papua province, as an eyewitness account supplied by the military described a grisly mass execution.The survivor's account detailed the killing of at least 19 people, which if confirmed would mark the deadliest bout of violence in years to hit a region wracked by a low-level independence insurgency.A Facebook account purportedly run by the National Liberation Army o

A pro-independence movement in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua is slowly simmering with recent attacks by armed assailants in the wake of gubernatorial elections in the country last Wednesday. Papua, was formerly a Dutch-controlled colony and had since been annexed by Indonesia in 1963. However, strong separationist sentiments still prevail on the Indonesian half of the island and the freshly concluded elections there served as a catalyst for this recent spate of violence.

Located on the greater New Guinea Island, West Papua is neighbour to the sovereign state of Papua New Guinea. Formerly known as Irian Jaya, it was annexed by Indonesia in 1963, a move formalised six years later with a widely discredited vote known as the Act of Free Choice, which was supervised by the United Nations (UN). Only 1,063 people voted, most of whom were selected by the military and compelled to vote in favour of Indonesian annexation.

Freeport-McMoRan signalled it’s made progress with Indonesia on how to value its flagship Grasberg mine, but warned that the final stages of divestment negotiations are complex.“We are working with the government to have a complete resolution of those issues, and the current goal that we’re both working on is by the end of the year,” Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson said from Jakarta during a two-hour long earnings call that was, once again, dominated by questions about Indonesia.