Thousands evacuated due to unrest in Indonesia's Papua
Thousands of residents in Indonesia's Papua scrambled to board military planes on September 27, fleeing urban unrest after one of the region's deadliest eruptions of violence in years.
People are evacuated to a military camp in Wamena city of Indonesia's Papua province (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Thousands of residents in Indonesia's Papua scrambled to board militaryplanes on September 27, fleeing urban unrest after one of the region'sdeadliest eruptions of violence in years.
Anger over racism againstindigenous Papuans by residents from other parts of Indonesia has fuelled weeksof angry protests in the impoverished region, as well as fresh calls forself-rule, AFP reported.
Violence broke outagain this week in Wamena city where over 20 people were killed.
Authorities saidthat some were burned alive when buildings were set on fire, while others werestabbed during the chaos.
Around 6,000soldiers and policemen were sent to Papua and West Papua to stabilise thesituation.
Some 700 Wamenaresidents, mostly migrants from other parts of the country, were evacuated toother parts of the country, the military said.
Up to 1,500 otherresidents gathered at a local airport on September 27 in a bid to leave, while atleast 2,500 people had registered to get aboard flights.
A low-levelseparatist insurgency has simmered for decades in the former Dutch colony afterJakarta took over Papua in the 1960s.
A UN-sponsored voteto stay within the archipelago in 1969 was widely viewed as rigged, but Jakartahas long refused to consider another referendum./.
Indonesia has blocked Internet access in eastern Papua to prevent provocative posts online from fueling violence, after a wave of protests against mistreatment of students and ethnic discrimination turned into riots.
Indonesian police said on September 2 that they have been investigating possible foreign involvement in violent protests in Papua and West Papua provinces since August 19.
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People are evacuated to a military camp in Wamena city of Indonesia's Papua province (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
