Members of the police Mobile Brigade carry the body of a fallen comrade killed in a shootout with gunmen in Tembagapura, Papua, during his funeral in Bengkulu, Bengkulu province, Indonesia October 24, 2017 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken October 24, 2017. Antara Foto/David Muharmansyah/ via REUTERS
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's military is ready to take tough measures, if needed, to combat separatists who, it said, were holding civilian hostages in villages in the eastern province of Papua, but will pursue dialogue first.
Police on Thursday said an armed separatist group linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) was preventing more than 1,000 people in five villages from leaving an area near the giant Grasberg mine operated by a unit of Freeport McMoRan Inc.
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