Indonesian forces rescue 18 Freeport workers from rebel siege in Papua

JAKARTA: The Indonesian military has rescued 18 workers who were surrounded by armed rebels for three days at gold and copper miner Freeport Indonesia’s outpost in the insurgency-plagued Papua region, officials said on Thursday (Jan 15).

The rebel group – the Free Papua Movement- says it is fighting for secession of the region from Indonesia, which has controlled half of the resource-rich island since 1969 after decades of Dutch control. 

The other half of the massive Pacific island – one of the largest in the world – is the independent state of Papua New Guinea, north of Australia.    

The workers were fixing one of Freeport’s electric towers in Tembagapura district in the mountainous Central Papua province, when rebels surrounded them last week, Indonesia defence ministry spokesperson Rico Ricardo Sirait told Reuters.

“They intimidated the workers, fired shots to frighten or trouble them psychologically,” Sirait said.

The military used drones to deliver food and medicine to the stranded workers, before evacuating them to safety after three days, he added.   

Freeport Indonesia and the spokesperson of Papuan separatists did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The military did not provide details on the operation to extricate the workers, but said no shots were fired. 

“The rescue operation was carried out in extremely difficult terrain with a high level of threat and time constraints as crucial factors,” the operation commander Major General Lucky Avianto said in a statement.

Footage shared by the military on YouTube showed two dozen armed soldiers passing through a forest and river at night, apparently near the site. 

Another photo showed the soldiers with the rescued workers.

Papua is one of Indonesia’s poorest regions, despite being resource-rich. It is home to Freeport’s Grasberg mine, which is one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines.