Violence in Papua Claims Hundreds of Lives, Mostly Civilians

According to a research report by the Papua Task Force of Gadjah Mada University (UGM), between 2010 and March 2022, there were 348 cases of violence in Papua and West Papua provinces.

Of these cases, there were 464 fatalities, with the majority, or 320 victims (69%), being civilians.

There were 106 fatalities among security personnel, comprising 72 members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and 34 police officers.

There were also 38 fatalities among members of the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM).

This data was compiled by the research team by gathering information primarily from mass media reports. The data's validity was reconfirmed with official sources such as security forces, regional leaders, and others.

"The actual number of fatalities is predicted to be far greater than the recorded data. This is because not all incidents are recorded and reported by the mass media," wrote the UGM Papua Task Force team in their report.

According to their research, the main actors in the violence in Papua and West Papua are from the TPNPB-OPM and the TNI/Polri security forces.