The Jakarta Globe, June 20, 2012
Another clash between tribesmen of two villages in the Papua district of Mimika erupted on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring 15 others.
The fight lasted about five hours, involving residents of Harapan village and Amole village on Jalan Kanguru in Kwamki Narama, in the subdistrict of Timika, according to Papua Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Yohanes Nugroho Wicaksono. A total of three people have died in a series of clashes between the two groups that began on June 6.
Yohanes said the villagers used bows and arrows to injure each other.
He added that Wednesday’s fighting began when one of the clashing groups challenged the other to fight.
“And then the two groups attacked each other. … Victim Inus Magai died from an arrow injury to his right chest, after he was admitted to Mitra Masyarakat Hospital,” Yohanes said on Wednesday.
He added that 15 others were injured in the incident.
The latest violence occurred just two days after a clash between residents of the two villages on Monday, which killed two villagers.
The Monday clash, which also left one person critically injured, broke out in the morning between around 500 men wearing matching striped shorts and tribal jewelry, said an AFP correspondent who saw four police officers struck by arrows while trying to arbitrate the fight.
Four vehicles, including an armored police truck, were torched in the violence.
The series of clashes began on June 6 after the death of a tribe member in a road accident.
Several large tribes live side by side in Mimika district, and killings are usually settled traditionally with compensation and communal feasts.
JG, AFP
wo 20 jun 2012 - 22:56