TEMPO.CO, Jayapura - The Advocate for Papua Policy and Human Rights (PAK HAM) has condemned the fatal shooting incident in Ilaga Subdistrict, Puncak District, Papua Province, on Friday (Nov. 20) that killed Atanius Murib (16) and injured Manus Murib (16).

"The perpetrators have chosen acts of deadly violence as a way to achieve their goals," PAK HAM Director Matius Murib said in a press statement in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Sunday.

Matius Murib said taking human life was God's authority, and assaulting Atanius Murib and Manus Murib, two local students, could never be justified by any reason. In this regard, the perpetrators had committed serious human rights violations.

Therefore, they must be brought to justice, he said while urging local communities and security personnel to support campaign on making December 2020 a peaceful month for creating "Papua as a house of peace" by stopping all forms of violence.

Puncak Police Chief Adjunct Sen.Coms.Decky Saragih revealed earlier that unidentified armed attackers shot the two students on Friday. Atanius Murib died at the crime scene while Manus Murib survived the shooting incident.

Manus Murib survived the shooting incident that occurred at about 06.00 a.m. local time after pretending to be dead. Prior to his evacuation to Timika, he told the police that he and Atanius Murib were attacked on their way to Agandume Subdistrict.

The two students were shot from a height inside a jungle between Agandume and Dume Subdistricts. Their attackers then went down to check the victims, and take a photo of them before leaving the crime scene, Saragih said.

After knowing that the attackers had left the area, Manus Murib told the police that he attempted to seek a help of residents of Jakimaki Village. A priest and several villagers carried Murib to the Ilaga health center to receive a medical care.

Deceased Atanius Murib would be evacuated by his family to be buried in his village, Saragih added.

The Indonesian province of Papua has continued to bear witness to a vicious cycle of violence, with armed Papuan criminal groups in the districts of Intan Jaya and Nduga targeting civilians and security personnel over the past few months.

Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September this year, with armed groups launching a series of attacks in the area that claimed the lives of two soldiers and two civilians and injured two others.

The notorious armed groups in the Indonesian province continued their acts of terror in October.

On October 9, 2020, for instance, an armed group ambushed a joint fact-finding team (TGPF) set up by the government to investigate a recent shooting in Mamba village, Sugapa sub-district.

In the incident, a TGPF member -- Gadjah Mada University (UGM) lecturer Bambang Purwoko -- was shot in the leg, while a TNI soldier — First Sgt Faisal Akbar of the Hitadipa Task Force — sustained injuries on the waist.

Also Read: Papua Police Probe Into Puncak's Fatal Shooting Incident

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