PUNCAK – The Central Headquarters Management of KOMNAS TPNPB has officially released a report regarding the escalating Indonesian military attacks in the Puncak Regency area. According to field reports, military operations that initially targeted TPNPB strongholds in the Pogoma District have now expanded to target civilian refugee camps. These actions by security forces have reportedly resulted in fatalities among displaced persons and the arbitrary arrest of indigenous Papuans.
The series of events began on Monday morning, March 13, 2026, when Indonesian military forces reportedly moved into civilian settlements from Sinak District to Pogoma District. Upon detecting this movement, TPNPB forces from the Pogoma Headquarters immediately took a "first-alert" stance and engaged in fierce resistance to halt the military's advance. The ensuing twelve-hour gunfight demonstrated the resilience of the TPNPB forces, who claimed to have maintained their positions without a single casualty, despite the Indonesian military deploying massive aerial support in the form of helicopters and eight drone units to drop bombs on the conflict site.
The failure of military forces to neutralize TPNPB personnel in the field allegedly triggered a shift in targets toward more vulnerable areas. Between April 13 and April 15, Indonesian military air and ground strikes swept through a refugee camp in the Kembru District, resulting in a dire humanitarian tragedy. During these attacks, nine civilians reportedly lost their lives and eight others were injured, with vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women among the victims of the operation. Similar conditions are feared in the Sinak District, though the exact number of casualties there is still being verified due to restricted access to information.
The increasingly tense security situation has forced thousands of civilians to flee back into the forests to escape military forces who are now occupying and strictly guarding the refugee camps in Kembru District. Beyond the aerial bombings, repressive practices against civilians were also reported in the East Beoga District. On April 15, 2026, seven civilians from Kimurik and Pupet Villages, who were traveling to the district center to purchase basic food supplies, were forcibly detained by security forces. The detainees—including Tengkelam Murib, Kulimaju Kulla, Delminus Alom, Amiton Magai, and Yuwena Alom—were reportedly taken to a military post to be tortured, and their current whereabouts and conditions remain unknown.
Through spokesperson Sebby Sambom, the Central Headquarters Management of KOMNAS TPNPB issued a stern condemnation against President Prabowo Subianto and the Indonesian military hierarchy for violations of the laws of war and international human rights in Puncak Regency. The TPNPB emphasized that the bombing of refugee camps is an extraordinary crime for which the state must be held accountable before the international community. Consequently, the TPNPB is demanding that independent investigative teams be granted immediate access to Papua and is calling upon the International Red Cross and the United Nations to intervene urgently to address the humanitarian and health crisis threatening the lives of internal refugees across the Land of Papua.
Papua One