HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS FLEE VIOLENCE IN INDONESIA’S PAPUA

Reports say hundreds of students have fled fighting in Indonesia’s restive Papua
province, amid unconfirmed reports of violent military reprisals after a massacre of
civilian workers by separatist rebels.
The death of 16 government-linked employees at a remote jungle work camp in
early December, marked a dramatic escalation from decades of mostly sporadic
skirmishes between poorly armed and disorganised guerrillas and a powerful
Indonesian military.
Meanwhile, subsequent clashes have prompted the Nduga district government to
evacuate more than 400 students to Wamena, the capital of neighbouring
Jayawijaya district, according to Humanitarian Volunteers for Nduga and a local
education agency official.