Freeport Trucks Attacked by Unknown Gunmen

Timika, Papua (Antara) - Unidentified gunmen attacked seven trailer trucks belonging to PT Freeport Indonesia in an area 41 miles from Timika, which is a road section connecting Timika and Tembagapura, in Papua. Papua Regional Police Command Spokesman Adjunct Senior Commissioner Sulistyo Pudjo Martono confirmed the incident to Antara here on Friday, informing that no one was injured in the incident. He noted that the seven container trucks, however, had suffered damages. The incident occurred at around 1.30 p.m. local time, when the trucks were passing through a road section en route the Amamapare Port site to Tembagapura, he added. The convoy of 18 vehicles included police escort and trailer trucks, he remarked. The convoy halted at an area 40 miles from Timika to beef up its security arrangements and then moved on. However, before it could reach an area 42 miles from Timika, it was sprayed with bullets from the right side of the road. Despite the attack, the convoy continued its journey until it reached an area 50 miles from Timika where it stopped to take stock of the situation. After inspection, it was found that some vehicles had been hit, including the trailer trucks driven by Yohanes Paliling, Sukri R, Sutrisno, Ibrahim, Sukri, Ayos, and Efendi. After receiving information, the military personnel from the Srigala Ceta Cavalry Detachment, led by First Sergeant Rahmad Rauf Luande, rushed to the site in an Anoa armored vehicle and conducted combing operations. Some sources revealed that the trailer driver Ayos Ansori suffered injuries in the neck and hip areas from the glass splinters flying around as a result of the attack. This has been the first attack on PT Freeport trailers, this week, as most people were still celebrating Christmas. (*)