PUNCAK JAYA — The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) reported one unit of unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) belonging to the Indonesian military fell shot down in Sinak Barat District, Puncak Jaya Regency, Central Papua. The incident which occurred in an air operation also caused a number of TPNPB members to experience light injuries.
"We have received an official report from the TPNPB forces at the Gilonik headquarters that the Indonesian military has launched a bomb attack using three drone units," said the Spokesperson of the TPNPB West Papua Liberation Organization (OPM) Sebby Sambom, Tuesday (16/6/2026).
The air attack on 6 April 2026 was allegedly released from the Indonesian military Post in Timobut. TPNPB launched counter shots and succeeded in bringing down one of the three passing drone units. The wreck of the unmanned aircraft is currently reported to still be at the Gilonik Headquarters, Sinak Barat.
Meanwhile, this military operation directly impacted the peace of the civilian settlement areas around Sinak Barat District. Explosions from the air attack caused physical damage to houses of residents and worship facilities in the conflict area. Security conditions which worsened around the location of the incident forced the local community to leave their homeland to save themselves.
The escalation of this shooting contact triggered a massive wave of internal displacement in the Papua mountainous region. TPNPB mentioned currently there are 122,931 civilians who are forced to displace due to the armed conflict between TPNPB and the Indonesian military. In order to overcome this humanitarian crisis, TPNPB urges the United Nations (UN) and the International Red Cross to immediately distribute emergency aid to the displacement camps.
TPNPB also highlighted the origin of the weaponry used in the military operation in Papua. One drone unit which fell shot down is strongly suspected to be a supply from a foreign country for the government of Indonesia. Responding to this finding, TPNPB calls to the international community to immediately stop the sale as well as shipment of military logistics to Indonesia because it is assessed to worsen the fall of civilian victims.
In addition to the urge for a weapons embargo, TPNPB asks the Indonesian military to stop the use of heavy weapons and stop the planting of landmines around the settlements of residents. TPNPB even urges the international world to conduct a thorough investigation over the military air operations in the Land of Papua since the 1960s until now. The series of air attacks using helicopters and fighter aircraft are said to have caused environmental damage as well as large losses of property for indigenous Papuan residents. (One Papua)