Jayapura, Jubi – The Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI) in Jayawijaya Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province, has called for an independent investigation and a review of security operations following the shooting of three residents in neighbouring Nduga Regency.
The shooting, allegedly carried out by personnel from the Rajawali VI Task Force, Detachment 1, under the Habema Joint Operations Command, occurred in Yosoma-Nonggoloit Village, Kenyam District, on October 23, 2026. Two civilians were killed and another was injured.
“KNPI Jayawijaya urges the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and relevant authorities to immediately establish an independent investigative team to uncover the objective facts behind the Nduga incident transparently,” Jayawijaya KNPI Chair Hengki Hilapok told Jubi in a text message on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.
Hilapok said shooting unarmed civilians constituted a serious human rights violation under the principles of international humanitarian law. He said those responsible must be identified and brought before an open court in accordance with Indonesian law.
“This is to ensure justice for the victims’ families and to comprehensively review the security approach in Papua,” he said.
Hilapok said the state must no longer hide behind justifications based on military operations or security concerns.
He argued that the security approach in Papua needed to be reviewed, particularly in conflict-prone areas such as Nduga Regency.
“Justice for the people of Nduga is non-negotiable and cannot be traded for narratives of development. The victims were civilians who were completely unarmed,” he said. (*)
