Twenty-nine people have died in violence attributed to armed criminal groups in Indonesia’s Papua Highlands between January and September 2026, according to figures presented by Papua Police Chief Inspector General Patrige Renwarin at a security coordination meeting in Wamena on 23 September. Police recorded 76 incidents involving shootings, arson, armed clashes, assaults, road blockades, hostage-taking, threats and the seizure of firearms during the period.
The toll included 25 civilians, two Indonesian soldiers and two police officers, underscoring that indigenous communities and other non-combatants remain the principal victims of the conflict.
As adapted from reporting by Tribrata News, the police chief also cited 642 security disturbances across Papua Highlands during the same nine-month period. The figures place the region’s insecurity in a wider humanitarian and governance context: attacks disrupt transportation, public services, schools, health access and the delivery of food and other essential supplies.
They also challenge claims circulated internationally that armed separatist violence is directed only at state institutions; the reported civilian toll indicates that ordinary Papuans are bearing the heaviest cost.
Civilians at the Centre of the Security Crisis
Armed groups commonly identified by Indonesian authorities as the KKB, or armed criminal groups, and often associated with the broader OPM separatist movement, have repeatedly operated in areas where civilians have limited protection and few alternative routes for travel. Teachers, medical workers, local officials, transport operators and community members can be exposed when roads are blocked, settlements are attacked or public facilities become targets.
Such actions violate basic human rights and cannot be legitimised as political expression, regardless of the grievances invoked by their perpetrators.
At the same time, the protection of Papuan civilians requires more than a security response. Any arrest, search, pursuit or use of force must comply with Indonesian law, professional standards and applicable human-rights principles, while credible allegations of misconduct should be investigated transparently.
The state’s responsibility is twofold: to prevent armed attacks and protect communities, and to ensure that counter-insurgency measures do not produce further fear, displacement or injustice among indigenous Papuans.
Coordinated Law Enforcement and Humanitarian Access
Renwarin said Papua Police and the Damai Cartenz 2026 task force would continue firm, professional and measured law enforcement while maintaining a humane approach through the Binmas Noken community-policing programme. Authorities plan to reinforce patrols and protection along vulnerable corridors, including Wamena–Tolikara, Wamena–Yalimo, Wamena–Lanny Jaya and Wamena–Nduga.
Securing these routes is vital not only for reducing attacks but also for keeping markets supplied, allowing health teams to travel and preserving access to education.
The proposed response relies on cooperation among police, the military, provincial and district governments, customary leaders, religious figures and civil-society representatives. Binmas Noken activities include engagement with young people and health services, measures that can help rebuild trust when they are delivered consistently and without discrimination.
In conflict-affected districts, dialogue with communities and protection for whistle-blowers and victims are equally important to prevent intimidation from armed groups and to ensure that security operations reflect local realities.
Security, Justice and Peaceful Development
Governor John Tabo said law-enforcement action had followed established procedures and standard operating protocols, while warning that the death of unarmed civilians represented a grave humanitarian tragedy. He called for stronger communication and joint strategic planning between government and security institutions.
The meeting was attended by leaders from all eight districts in Papua Highlands—Jayawijaya, Mamberamo Tengah, Lanny Jaya, Tolikara, Yalimo, Pegunungan Bintang, Nduga and Yahukimo—signalling that local government must remain central to both crisis management and recovery.
Reliable security is a prerequisite for the rights and development of Papua’s indigenous population, not a substitute for them. Affirmative development, accountable local democracy, fair economic opportunity and uninterrupted public services can reduce the isolation that armed groups exploit, but these efforts must be designed with customary communities and protected from corruption or exclusion.
The immediate priority is to save lives and keep humanitarian and public services functioning; the longer-term objective is a Papua Highlands in which political disagreement is addressed peacefully, rights are upheld, and no armed organisation can claim to speak for communities while endangering them.
