10 People Are Killed In A Riot In Indonesia’s Papua.

According to authorities, Indonesia has sent security troops to a town in the Papuan separatist region’s east after a disturbance that resulted in 10 deaths was ignited by reports of a kidnapping.

Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo, a spokesperson for the Papua Province police, told AFP that on Thursday, angry people in Wamena town assaulted officers with stones and arrows because they thought they were the kidnappers of a little girl.

The official said that eight individuals were murdered by police when they opened fire on the crowd, 23 others were injured, and two more were slain by the mob.

After warning shots were fired, the crowd refused to disperse and even assaulted police officers with arrows, according to Prabowo. “The mob, who were becoming anarchic, did not want to listen to the authorities and did not want to disperse,” he said.

“Rioters set 12 stores on fire and one home. A number of automobiles and motorbikes were set on fire.

When the situation worsened, at least 100 security personnel were sent from Jayapura, the provincial capital, to put an end to the fighting, according to Prabowo.

Meanwhile, the child’s parents had deemed her safe, he said.

He said that the parents had “indicated that there was no abduction of their child.”

“The circumstances are in control.”

In the course of a decades-old rebellion seeking independence for the mineral-rich region of Papua, Indonesia’s military and police have long been accused of perpetrating crimes against Papuan people.

Once a Dutch colony, Papua proclaimed its independence in 1961, but two years later, Indonesia seized power.

The ensuing referendum to remain a part of Indonesia was largely seen as a fraud.