Timika, Papua – Search efforts continued on Saturday for an Indonesian soldier who went missing during a routine patrol in Utikini village, Tembagapura subdistrict, Mimika district, Papua province on November 17, 2020.
The Indonesian military (TNI) likewise requested the local neighborhood and religious leaders in Banti and Utikini Lama villages, Tembagapura subdistrict to sign up with the search for Private-2 Hengki Sumarlin Zai.
On Saturday, the search efforts entered the 11 th day, however Zai stayed to be discovered, Leader of the Mimika District Armed Force Command, Lt.Col. Yoga Cahya Prasetya, stated.
” In the search objective, we are engaging the community and religious figures in Banti and Utikini towns because they might be more knowledgeable about the search area,” he added.
Considering the hard geographical conditions in the search area, the TNI has actually likewise appealed to the Timika Search and Rescue (SAR) Company and gold and copper mining company PT Freeport Indonesia’s emergency reaction group to join the search mission.
” If a helicopter is dispatched to support the search efforts, it may assist trace the missing out on soldier farther along the riverbank,” Prasetya said, adding that the SAR’s objective would continue till more notification.
Private-2 Hengky Sumarlin Zai was declared missing out on in action on Tuesday (November 17, 2020). He was found missing out on not long after joining a regular patrol with 14 other TNI soldiers along the Kabur riverbank in Utikini town.
Throughout the patrol, Zai was assigned as the front surveillance officer. He and 9 other soldiers were patrolling the riverbank, while the staying soldiers were positioned around the riverbank.
While walking near the riverbank, Zai and his group came across a conventional hut, locally called “honai”, and spotted a man running away from it. The guy had obviously seen the soldiers approach the hut.
Zai and his coworkers chased the man. After the soldiers regrouped at the end of the patrol, Zai was found missing out on.
The missing soldier was wearing a military uniform, a bullet-proof vest, and a helmet. He was also carrying an SS2 V4 rifle bearing the registration number 01-4296
Over the previous few months, the Indonesian province of Papua has actually witnessed a spurt in violence, with armed Papuan groups in the districts of Intan Jaya and Nduga targeting civilians and security personnel.
Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September this year, with armed groups introducing a series of attacks in the location that claimed the lives of 2 soldiers and two civilians and injured two others.
The infamous armed groups in the Indonesian province continued their acts of fear in October and November.
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On October 9, 2020, for example, an armed group assailed a joint fact-finding team (TGPF) formed by the government to examine a recent shooting in Mamba village, Sugapa sub-district.
In the incident, a TGPF member– Gadjah Mada University (UGM) speaker Bambang Purwoko– was shot in the leg, while a TNI soldier– First Sgt Faisal Akbar of the Hitadipa Job Force– sustained injuries on the waist.
On November 20, 2020, 2 16- year-old trainees called Atanius Murib and Manus Murib were attacked by unknown armed aggressors in Ilaga sub-district, Puncak district, Papua province. Atanius was eliminated, while Manus sustained serious gunshot injuries.
The Advocate for Papua Policy and Human Rights (PAK HAM) condemned the deadly shooting. (INE)
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