Guerrillas of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) claimed responsibility for killing two government troops and injuring eight others in a weekend attack, which involved the use of a grenade launcher.
The attack on a military post took place Saturday in Nduga, a mountainous area.
On Saturday, West Papuan insurgents used a grenade launcher as they attacked a military post manned by Indonesian marines. Two marines, identified as Lt. Mohamad Iqbal and First Pvt. Wilson Anderson were killed in the attack.
Since the 1960s, Papua has been home to a anti-colonial insurgency, while Indonesia’s occupying military forces have committed frequent human rights abuses in counter-insurgency operations.
In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua – like Indonesia, a former Dutch colony – and annexed the region that makes up the western half of New Guinea Island.
Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a United Nations-sponsored vote, which was a sham because it involved only about 1,000 people. However, the U.N. accepted the result, endorsing Jakarta’s colonial rule.