Jakarta: More than 16,000 scared residents have fled an unrest-hit city in Indonesia’s Papua region, the military said, as one of the deadliest eruptions of violence in years sparked calls for an independent probe.
Several dozen people were killed when violence broke out in Wamena city last month, with some victims burned alive when buildings were set ablaze and others stabbed in the chaos, according to authorities.Since mid-August, Papua has been hit by waves of mass protests and violence fuelled by racism against indigenous Papuans by Indonesians from other parts of the archipelago, as well as calls for self-rule in the impoverished region.
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